


Awakening

by LastDragonborn25



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Brother-Sister Relationships, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossing Timelines, Explicit Language, Friendship, also in the year leading up to IT, characters are all canon age, set after stranger things 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2020-10-24 10:28:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 34,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20704469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LastDragonborn25/pseuds/LastDragonborn25
Summary: "It seemed so real. I mean, it seemed like him but there was this..." "The clown. Yeah, I saw him too." Leaving Hawkins, the Byers have moved to the quiet little town of Derry, Maine. But something about Derry is wrong. Something about Derry is evil.





	1. The Lab

**Author's Note:**

> My attempt at a crossover between my two favorite things at the moment. I know there's plenty of them out there now, but I hope everyone enjoys mine. Thank you!

Hawkins Lab was as pristine as she remembered it. Sterile, was the word the men in lab coats often used. Fluorescent lights illuminated the corridor, the floors were shiny and the walls were stark white. Eleven padded along the corridor, wearing only socks and a hospital gown that was just a bit too big for her. She absentmindedly ran a hand along her head, reaching for her shoulder length hair. It wasn’t there. Someone had buzzed it off. She couldn’t remember when that had happened, but it was a foreign feeling. She had worked so hard to grow out her hair, wanting to be the pretty girl she’d always hoped to be.

A gnawing feeling clawed at her chest. It was a familiar feeling, one that Eleven had known from a very young age. The gnawing, the tightening of her throat, the prickling on the back of her neck. It was fear. She had sensed that something about this wasn’t right, but it was only now as she walked slowly down the empty corridor that the fear began to grow inside her like a creeping web. Why was she here? Why was she walking down this corridor, in the lab she had grown to hate and fear so very much?

The music. She was following the music. Eleven closed her eyes and focused on it. It was a distant melody, one that she had heard before. Circus music. It reminded her of one of her first ‘real’ dates with her boyfriend. Mike had begged and pleaded with Hopper, to no avail, to allow them to visit the traveling circus together. Hopper had been more than happy to shut the boy down, telling him he could ‘compromise’ by letting them hang out in Eleven’s room, with the door open at least three inches minimum at all times. Joyce Byers had managed to talk him down however, so Mike and Eleven were brought to the circus for two hours, while Hopper stuck around of course.

Eleven was overwhelmed and awed by the circus. Lights and games and a big tent in the center, where animals and tightrope walkers performed for the crowd. There was popcorn, hot dogs, cotton candy. Mike had won a small teddy bear at a balloon darts game, and sheepishly given it to Eleven with a tender smile. She’d taken it, holding it close to her chest. He leaned in and kissed her, a soft and tender kiss that Eleven had never wanted to end. She had felt something then that had been growing for awhile between them. She didn’t know what it was, but it was in that moment that she decided she wanted to be with Mike Wheeler forever.

“ _ Eleven _ ,” a voice whispered in her ear.

She stopped, knowing that voice.

“ _ You came back, Eleven. I knew you would _ .”

She turned, and there he was just behind her. The tall man with white hair, dressed in a fancy suit. Papa. He smiled at her, and she stared back, locked in his gaze.

“ _ Don’t worry, Eleven. You’re home now _ ,” he said, stepping towards the girl.

“Home,” she said softly.

It was an in the moment reaction, that was quickly replaced by doubt. The doubt began to turn into fear again.

“No. Bad place. Bad,” she said.

Papa’s smile vanished, and he raised a hand, snapping his fingers.

“ _ Take her away _ ,” he said.

Eleven’s heart hammered as the footsteps of two men approached from behind her. She whirled around and saw them, the guards. Panic began to set in.

“No!” she yelled, running from them.

She ran as fast as she could, but the corridor only seemed to grow longer the further she ran. Then she saw the door. It was just there, at the end of the corridor. A childish painting adorned the wall just to its left.

_ Rainbow. _

Eleven flung the door open, freezing as she entered the Rainbow Room. Two girls sat on the floor, coloring a picture with crayons. A woman sat beside them in a rocking chair, mumbling nonsense under her breath. Eleven knew the words well, and icy fear plunged into her stomach.

“ _ Three to the right, four to the left. Rainbow, sunflower, breath. _ ”

The woman looked up, and Eleven’s mouth dropped open in horror at what she saw. The woman’s face was melting. 

“ _ You couldn’t save me! You wouldn’t save me! Brat, you worthless little brat, I don’t have a daughter! My daughter is dead, dead, DEAD! _ ”

Eleven spun around and slammed the door with a heavy metallic bang. She trembled, her breathing becoming rapid, tears began to leak from her eyes. She didn’t have time, though. The guards were there, grabbing her.

“No! No, no, no! PAPA! PAPA!” she shrieked as they lifted her by the arms, dragging her down the corridor.

The circus music grew louder as they approached another door at the other end of the corridor. Eleven thrashed and kicked, screaming and sobbing. They opened the door, the darkness of the room enveloping her entire being. She screamed, but they threw her in. She didn’t hit the floor though. She heard the door slam, and she was falling. 

Suddenly, she plunged into cold water. It completely consumed her, over her head. She looked around wildly, desperately, before realizing where she was. The Bath. A cylindrical tube filled with water, sealed at the top, Plexiglas surrounding the small enclosure. She was floating, floating in the water. The music was loud, very loud, as Eleven whipped her head back and forth, looking for a way out. Suddenly, it stopped. Papa was standing outside the glass, smiling at her. He placed his hand against it.

“ _ My dear little Eleven. Trapped, like a rat in a cage _ ,” he said. 

She could hear his voice clearly, despite being submerged. Then another voice came from behind her, and she spun around.

“Hopper,” she whispered, feeling tears sting her eyes.

“ _ You know what kid, I think I like you in there. Trapped. Alone. Forgotten. I’m leaving you in there. You’ll never get out _ .”

Eleven was crying, and she thrust her fists against he glass.

“Hopper!”

_ “Did you really think I loved you? You’re a brat. That’s why I left. Because of you!” _

“No, no…” Eleven sobbed, watching as her father faded away in a cloud of dust.

“El?”

A new voice filled her head. His voice. It was clearer than the others, and she knew that he was there. He was really there.

“M-Mike?”

There he was. Where Jim Hopper had been standing a moment before, Mike Wheeler now stood in his place. Eleven gasped, tears of relief and joy coming to her eyes. She reached out to touch him, but her hand was stopped by the glass.

“What are you doing in there, El? Were supposed to go to the circus,” Mike said, placing his hand against the outside of the Bath.

His freckled face was scrunched up with concern. He stared into El’s eyes, and El stared back, longing to be free of the Bath so that she could feel him. She desperately wanted to hold him, kiss him, never stop. The music returned.

“I want to go to the circus with you, El. I’ll… I’ll get you a balloon. The kind that floats.”

Tears streamed from Eleven’s eyes, turning the water of the Bath salty. It was only then that something caught her eye. Standing just behind Mike was a clown. Eleven didn’t like clowns. Mike had explained to her that they were just people, who dressed up and talked real funny to make kids laugh. This clown wasn’t like that. It had a painted white face with bright red lips, and large yellow teeth. Bright orange hair stood up in tufts on either side of Its head, and it wore a smile that was not comforting or funny in the least bit. In fact, it sent a shiver of pure terror through her body.

“Mike,” she whispered. 

The clown cocked It’s head, the expression unchanging. It held a bundle of red balloons in between It’s incredibly long fingers. Eleven wished It would go away. She hated It. She was afraid of It.

“Mike!” she said louder this time, hitting the glass with her palms.

The clown took a long, exaggerated step toward Mike. Mike was still holding his hand to the glass.

“Mike! Bad, bad, BAD!” She shrieked, slamming her hands against the glass as hard as she could.

“El…” He said, just as the clown moved forward at an incredible speed.

It grabbed Mike, lifting him off the floor with both hands. His face wore an expression of surprise, and he turned his head to look down at It. The clown’s smile widened, and Eleven saw something in It change. It’s eyes turned yellow, and a low growl came from the back of It’s throat.

“MIKE!” Eleven screamed in terror.

Too late. The clown’s eyes spread apart and It’s jaw opened impossibly wide. It’s mouth was full of hundreds of razor sharp teeth. The monster turned and bit down, It’s teeth sinking into Mike’s shoulder before It pulled back, tearing Mike’s arm off. 

“NOOO!” Eleven screamed, sobbing in horrible anguish.

Mike screamed in agony, his arm ripped off at the shoulder, strips of bloody flesh hanging like a torn rag. Blood poured from the wound, and the clown tossed It’s head back, gulping and chewing. The sound of flesh tearing and bones crunching filled Eleven’s head, even among Mike’s wails of pain. Eleven was screaming too, sobbing, manically slamming her fists against the glass. He was bleeding, he was hurt, he was dying… 

“You can’t save him, Eleven. He’s going to die, and it’s  _ all your fault _ !” The clown spoke in a childish, sing song voice. 

Blood dripped down It’s chin, and It crouched over Mike. 

“All your fault, all your fault, you killed Mikey! You can’t save him, no no no!”

The clown’s jaw snapped open again, and It descended on Mike, this time tearing into his throat. Eleven shut her eyes and screamed his name, the boy she loved. Her world, her everything, taken from her. Taken, gone. Gone forever.


	2. We All Have Nightmares

“El? El? Eleven!”

Eleven woke up screaming and thrashing. Someone was shaking her, their hand on her shoulder. She swung instinctively, nearly hitting Will Byers in the nose. 

“El, it’s okay! It’s okay!”

Eleven was shaking like a leaf. She stared up at Will, tears streaming down her cheeks. She choked out a sob and threw herself around him, hugging him as tightly as she could. He was real, he had to be. Her fists clenched his t-shirt so hard her knuckles turned white, her entire body shaking and heaving sobs. 

“It’s okay,” he said more quietly, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing gently.

Eleven barely noticed Joyce leaning onto the other side of her bed until she felt her warm, caring touch caressing her right hand. She took Joyce’s hand in her own, squeezing tightly. Joyce wore an expression of shock and deep concern. She didn’t say anything, just squeezing Eleven’s hand and rubbing small circles with her thumb.

“Just a nightmare. You’re okay, you’re okay,” Will was whispering.

The three of them remained like this for almost ten minutes. Will continued to quietly murmur comforting words, allowing Eleven to cry into his shoulder, still gripping his shirt tightly. Joyce just held her hand, at some point using her other hand to run tenderly through Eleven’s shoulder length hair. Her hair was back. Oddly enough, it was the first bit of relief she really got.

Eleven didn’t speak. She couldn’t speak. She could only cry. The nightmare hadn’t been like a normal dream. Every aspect of it felt far too real. She could still hear that music in her head, still smell the lingering scent of popcorn, hot dogs, and cotton candy. She could still see the clown when she closed her eyes, ripping and tearing flesh with his rabid teeth. Mike. She could still hear his agonized sobs, still see his face and how much pain he was in as that  _ thing _ devoured him. She shook her head, trying to fight back the tears that kept flowing. Finally, she calmed down enough to speak.

“I’m sorry,” she said shakily.

“It’s okay, El. The nightmares are normal. We all have them,” Joyce said softly.

Eleven sniffled, slowly letting go of Will and wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

“It… It felt so real,” she said.

With the nightmare slowly fading from her mind, Eleven reassured the Byers that she was alright. She headed to the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face. It helped, her heart rate dropping back to normal and her hands slowly stopped shaking. She absentmindedly rubbed at her leg, feeling the scar there. Her dreams had changed since moving to Derry. While before they were filled with terrible images of monsters and screaming, she also had good dreams about her friends and loved ones. Now, every dream left her filled with a clutching fear that seemed to always linger. Eleven breathed deeply through her nose, then out her mouth. Hopper had taught her that trick, a long time ago. 

She headed back to her room and opened the top drawer of her dresser, pulling out the worn sheet of paper. Hopper’s speech. She read it every day. Some spots on it were stained with tears. She clutched it tightly, regulating her breathing, before placing it gingerly back in its usual spot.

Joyce was leaning against the door frame when she turned around, biting her lip. 

“Did you want to stay home from school today?” she asked quietly.

“No. School will help,” Eleven said, closing the drawer.

Joyce crossed the room, giving Eleven a tight hug before telling her that breakfast would be ready soon. Eleven nodded, her eyes trailing to the radio on her nightstand as Joyce left the room. She walked over and clicked the button, not speaking at first.

“Mike?” She said softly.

Of course, she knew nobody was there. While Maine was in the same time zone as Indiana, school in Hawkins started an hour before school in Derry. Mike would already be on his way to school. They had set a time for their calls when Eleven first settled into her new home. He called her with the cerebro every day after school, at exactly 3:15. Three one five. They usually talked for a long time, never less than an hour. It was good to hear his voice. After the dream, she would have given anything to speak to him. She set the radio back down on the nightstand and headed down to breakfast.

Joyce was running about the kitchen, pulling bowls out of the cabinets and frantically yanking boxes of cereal out of the cupboards.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have time to cook today. Jonathan’s had all those early shifts lately, but he should be home when you get here, okay?”

“Okay Mom,” Will said, pouring a big bowl of lucky charms.

He passed Eleven the milk, and they ate their breakfast in relative silence as Joyce left, kissing them both on the cheek before telling them she loved them. Once they had both finished their cereal, Will took their bowls to the sink, rinsing them out. Eleven picked up her backpack, and they headed out together.

Derry was a quiet town. Eleven liked it that way. Will had never imagined a place could be more boring than Hawkins, but they still found plenty to do. Riding their bikes around the quiet streets, joining the other kids in baseball games at the fields behind the High School, exploring the Barrens. The Barrens were one of Eleven’s favorite places to go. It was nothing more than a swampy marshland that ran off to the Kenduskeag River, surrounded by woods. To Eleven however, it was wonderful. She liked to explore with Will, playing games that made her feel like a little kid. Tag and hide and seek, building forts out of branches and knowing that nobody could hear them talk. It was perfect.

Neither of them had made many friends yet. Eleven stuck with Will as much as possible in school, only speaking short responses when someone asked her a question. They had both learned quickly to stay away from the Bowers Gang. A group of boys a year above them, the Bowers Gang were sadistic bullies. Mouth Breathers, as Mike would have called them. Eleven had witnessed in horror as they chased a boy across the front lawn of the school one day, pinning him against the fence before Henry Bowers had bloodied his nose. She had very much wished she had her powers at that moment. She would have taught Henry a lesson.

Apart from the Henry Bowers and his gang, they had also figured it would be less than ideal to make friends with anyone from the ‘Losers Club’ a group of kids that were constantly picked on and regarded as outcasts. Everyone else seemed to look at Eleven and Will with contempt. So they stuck together, figuring their true friends were back in Hawkins anyway. They didn’t need anyone else.

School was not how Eleven had imagined it. Too many people, too loud. She enjoyed the classes though. Language and Literature had quickly become her favorite subjects. So many books to read and get lost in, so many words that she had never heard before. Her vocabulary was expanding significantly, though some of her sentences still came out a bit choppy. She dedicated herself to reading and writing, though, and had begun a hobby of writing letters to her friends back in Hawkins. They always sent reply letters. Max’s letters were always covered in stickers and glitter. Dustin’s letters had a lot of big words, while Lucas’s letters were rather short and to the point. Mike’s were always several pages long, always ending with X’s and O’s. She kept them all in a folder under her bed. Even though she and the Byers had only been living in Derry for two months, the folder was filled with hundreds of pages. She sometimes stayed up late into the night, rereading them. It made her both happy and sad, tears and laughter mixing together.

Yes, their new life in Derry was good. Not perfect, but nothing ever was. Eleven just wished the nightmares would stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know this is a bit slow but I wanted to give some insight as to what Eleven and the Byers have been up too since moving to Maine and trying to incorporate their lives slowly into the IT universe. It's a challenge for sure but hey, that's what I get for trying to make a serious crossover haha. Hope people like it so far, there will be more action in the coming chapters!


	3. The Upside Down

Will Byers felt uneasy. He supposed he just hadn’t adjusted yet to their new home. It felt too clean and orderly. He absentmindedly fiddled with the game piece from his old D&D set. The Demogorgon. Funny, that it was the one piece from the set he’d held on to. It felt a bit like a trophy. A reminder of everything that had happened.

Will got up from his bed and tossed his X-Men comic book on his dresser. He placed the Demogorgon next to it and headed out to the living room. Maybe watching television would help distract him from how quiet the house was. His Mom was working late tonight, and Jonathan had gone shopping over an hour ago. Eleven had left with her radio almost three hours before. She still wasn’t home. Will couldn’t help but worry a bit, but he knew where she was. The Barrens, probably. Since she had taken her radio, he knew that she would be talking to Mike. She liked the Barrens for the privacy it gave her to speak with him. Will hoped she would come home soon though, as it was starting to get dark. She usually stuck to the seven o’clock curfew.

“ _ Will.” _

Will startled as he heard his name. It was a small whisper, so quiet he could hardly tell what it was. He stopped, his hand nearly on the knob of the television. He turned around quickly.

“Mom?” he called out.

“ _ Will,” _ the whisper came again, from the hallway.

He had definitely heard it. It was definitely his name. 

“Jonathan? Are you home?” Will asked, the uneasy feeling beginning to grow in his chest.

“El? Who’s here?”

Silence. The silence was worse than hearing that tiny whisper. Maybe it was nothing? It 

could have been the cat. Then he heard it again, barely there. It sounded like it was coming from the bathroom.

“Okay, seriously. Not funny!” he called down the hallway.

Will huffed and walked briskly towards the bathroom. The door was cracked, a night light illuminating the entrance so they could find their way to the toilet in the dark. The door creaked as he opened it, snapping the light on. Nothing. Nobody was in the bathroom. Will let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and allowed himself a small laugh. Of course nobody was there. This new house, the silence, it was all just freaking him out a little bit. He had plenty of reasons to be freaked out when he was alone, he knew. He felt stupid for a moment.

Will flicked the light off, turning around into the hallway. He gasped in fear then, watching his breath float into the air. Everything had gone cold, and very dark. He was still in the house, but it wasn’t the house. The walls were rotted and peeling, the carpet covered with mold, the stink of decay filled his nostrils and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He reached up instinctively, feeling the goosebumps that were forming under his hairline. He was in the Upside Down.

Will’s heart raced, familiar and terrible fear squeezing him tightly. He couldn’t breath.

“H-help! Help! Mom!”

He ran down the hallway, his pounding footsteps echoing in the dark, cold place. He flung open the front door and stopped on the front porch. Music was playing. A distant, far away music. A strange music. What was it? He looked around, eyes wide, sweat forming on his brow. Where was that music coming from? He knew it. Circus music. Will had never heard anything like it in the Upside Down before. He had never heard music at all.

The tune was distorted, like radio interference. He looked across the lawn, and saw It. A clown. It was distinctly contrasted against the dull, dark nothing of the Upside Down. It’s face was painted white, It’s red bottom lip drooping to reveal comically large, yellow teeth. It held a single red balloon in It’s hand. It was staring directly at Will, It’s gleaming blue eyes boring into him. Will felt frozen. He couldn’t move.

“What’s the matter, Will? Have you come to float with us?”

Will’s mouth hung open, and his head shook side to side without him even realizing it. 

“We all  _ float _ down here, Will. Yes, we  _ float. _ Soon, you’ll float too.”

The clown’s eyes turned yellow, and It seemed to distort. It’s face was melting, and a shrill, haunting laughter came from It. Will snapped back to his senses, whipping around and slamming the front door shut. The house was normal.

The lights seemed to flicker back on, and warmth returned. The smell of decay left his nose, replaced by the clean air of his house. Pumpkin, the orange tabby, was rubbing against the leg of the coffee table. The cat meowed, indicating that it wanted it’s dinner. Will suddenly felt sick. He ran to the bathroom and vomited into the sink, coughing as he finished and spitting the rest down the drain before turning on the faucet. His hands shook uncontrollably. As he watched the water wash the rest of his sick down the drain, he decided that he couldn’t tell anyone what he had seen. Especially not his Mom. There was no way any of that was real. The Mind Flayer was dead, the Gate was closed, and they were fifteen hours from Hawkins, Indiana. It was just this stupid house getting to him. Will sank to the floor, wrapping his arms around his knees. Better to be crazy than to go back to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was fun to write! Kinda short but hey. I'll soon be incorporating IT characters into the story, stay tuned! Thank you!


	4. Henry Bowers

The next few days were quiet. After Will’s episode several nights prior, not much had happened. Joyce had been the first to come home, noticing her son was pale and quiet, his hands clenched together as he sat on the couch watching television. 

“It’s fine, I just… Don’t feel so good,” he had told her.

She had fretted over him all night, taking his temperature, fixing him tea, offering for him to stay home from school the next day. Of course he wouldn’t miss school. Will knew that he had to be there for El. He wouldn’t make her go alone. Jonathan had gotten home with armloads of groceries, as well as some new decorations for the home. He’d picked up on Will’s aura as well, then made him some soup. El had arrived a bit after curfew, which Joyce hadn’t been all too thrilled about. Will had been right. She had spent six hours in the Barrens, talking to Mike on the radio the entire time. It looked like she’d been crying, but nobody mentioned it. 

Neither El nor Will told each other about what they had seen. El’s nightmare, and Will’s episode, went unspoken. They focused on school, but it was obvious that they were both quieter than usual. Their habits remained the same, and life went on. Everything seemed normal, until Friday afternoon.

School was ending for the day, and Will was gathering his things from his locker. Wrapped up in his thoughts, it came as a surprise when someone knocked into him hard from behind, sending his books and schoolwork flying to the floor.

“Oops, sorry new kid,” the mocking voice of Henry Bowers said to him.

Will turned to look at them. Henry was flanked by his buddies, Victor, Belch, and Patrick. Patrick stood in the back of the group, taller than the rest. He was sneering at Will with a hungry look on his ratlike face.

“It’s- it’s fine,” Will mumbled, leaning over to pick up his books.

“So new kid, where’s your freaky sister?” Henry asked, his voice dripping with malice.

Will closed his eyes, anger surging through him like a hot knife. He didn’t respond, shoving his books into his backpack.

“A real freak, that one. You guys heard how she talks? Fucking autistic or something,” Henry said, Belch and Victor laughing in agreement.

“Shut up!” Will yelled, his voice cracking.

He whirled around to face the bullies, but Henry was ready for him. He grabbed the front of Will’s shirt and slammed him backwards against the lockers with a loud bang. A few passing students turned their heads to look, but nobody stepped in. Everyone knew not to get in Henry’s way.

“Think your freaky fucking sister wants a piece of this? Five bucks says she blows me by 

the end of next week,” Henry breathed in Will’s face, his breath smelling like cigarettes and juicy fruit gum.

“Shut up!” Will screamed. 

Henry hit him, hard. Will’s vision blurred and his ears were ringing. He looked up to see Henry raising his fist for a second punch.

“Stop that! Get off of him, Bowers!” A loud voice said.

A teacher. Thank God. Henry stopped, looking at Mr. Pinkerton before turning back to Will and letting go of his shirt.

“Were not finished,” he growled, before turning away.

“You’ve earned yourself two weeks of detention, Bowers! And your father will hear about this, you can be damned sure about that!” Mr. Pinkerton yelled after Henry as he and his friends swaggered down the hallway.

“Are you alright, son?” Mr. Pinkerton asked, holding out his hand to help Will up.

“Yeah, fine. Thanks,” Will muttered, holding his throbbing left eye. 

“I can take you to the nurse, get some ice on that…”

“No, I’m fine really. I gotta walk my sister home,” Will said. 

He turned away from Mr. Pinkerton, still holding his eye as he walked down the hallway to the next where El’s locker was. She was there, zipping up her backpack. When she saw Will, she lit up, but her face quickly turned to worry when she saw that he was holding his eye, head bent down to avoid her gaze.

“Will? Are you okay?” she asked, gently taking his wrist and pulling his hand down.

Her eyes widened when she saw the bruise that was already swelling there. She put her hand on his chin to tilt his head up, biting her lip in worry.

“You’re hurt,” she said, her voice filled with concern.

“I’m fine, El,” he said, but his voice was shaking.

“Who? Who hurt you?” she asked firmly.

“Nobody, just… That jerk, Henry,” Will mumbled.

“Mouth breather,” El said.

Will gave a small laugh.

“Yeah. Come on, let’s go home.”

They walked home together, side by side. They were close enough so that their arms 

brushed together as they went. Will felt the anger still bubbling in his stomach. That bastard Bowers, how dare he say those things? It was cruel, and Will wished he could go back, go back and get the first punch. He wanted to wipe that awful grin off Bowers’ face, make him swallow his tongue. He cared about El. He loved her. Not in the same way that she and Mike loved each other. It was different. Will felt the need to protect her, watch over her. Like a bodyguard or something. He supposed that was because she was a part of his family now. She had been there, from the first time she found him in the Upside Down. She had saved him. Now, he needed to save her, in any way he could.

“Why did he hurt you?” El suddenly asked.

“Oh… cause I’m the new kid, I guess,” Will replied.

Eleven was doubtful of his reason, but she didn’t press further. It was obvious that Will didn’t want to talk about it. She had been trying to read people better, to refrain from pushing and prodding when someone didn’t want to talk about something. She understood how it felt. She couldn’t bring herself to talk about her nightmares, not with the school counselor, or any of the Byers. She talked to Mike about them, but she wouldn’t tell him everything. Not about watching him die, or seeing Hopper. Not about the clown. She only told him about the lab, and how scared she felt. He reassured her, speaking comforting words to help her feel that everything was going to be okay. He promised that they would see each other soon.

Arriving home, Will noticed his Mom’s and Jonathan’s cars in the driveway. His hand instinctively went up to his eye. 

“Oh, shit,” he muttered, causing El to look over at him.

This wouldn’t be a fun conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed writing this chapter very much! Henry Bowers is one of my favorite 'bad guys.' I hope I did well!


	5. Voices in the Drain

“I’ll kill him! I swear to God, I’ll kill him,” Joyce was nearly hysterical. 

Will sat at the kitchen table, holding a bag of frozen peas to his left eye. Joyce was pacing back and forth, while Jonathan stood by the door as if he was ready to stop his Mom from leaving if he had to. Eleven sat next to Will, nervously tapping her fingers on the table. 

“Mom, stop. Really, I don’t care,” Will said.

“He hurt you, Will! I’m going to kill him.”

“Mom,” Jonathan said with a tone that said ‘calm down.’

“What, Jonathan? What? If anyone hurt  _ any _ of you…”

“Mom, he’s fourteen. I’m sure he can figure this out for himself,” Jonathan tried to reason.

“He’s right, Mom. Really,” Will said.

Joyce stopped pacing and walked over to Will. She looked like she might cry. She leaned 

down and hugged him tightly.

“You’re so grown up,” she whispered, holding her son.

Sometimes she never wanted to let him go. After nearly losing him so many times, she couldn’t bear the thought of him in pain. She couldn’t lose her little boy. After awhile, Joyce was calm enough to pull herself together and start making a casserole for dinner. Eleven headed to her room, knowing she was already an hour late to her usual radio call with Mike. She hoped he hadn’t gone home. Will and Jonathan sat in the living room together, watching television while Jonathan organized the photographs on the coffee table for work. He looked over at his brother.

“Mom’s crazy, but she cares a lot. I don’t like it either,” Jonathan said, and Will knew he was talking about the incident with Bowers. 

“It’s just some jerk at school. He does that to everyone,” Will said, not looking over.

“He punches everyone in the face?”

“Uh, yeah! He’s a bully. I saw him beating up some kid in the bathroom last week.”

Jonathan bit his lip. He hated bullies, had been bullied quite a bit in High School himself. He’d never been beaten up though, most of the bullies at Hawkins High were the type that liked making you feel like an outcast. They hurt with words, not fists. Will hung his head, before confiding the true reason he was attacked by Henry earlier.

“He was talking about El. Saying nasty stuff. I told him to shut up.”

Jonathan got it then. Will had stood up for El, and it had earned him a shiner. He smiled at his younger brother. Will usually told him the things that he was too embarrassed to tell their Mom. He figured that El hadn’t known why either. 

“I’m proud of you,” he said.

Will looked up, a hint of surprise on his face. 

“Really. I’m proud of you. You’re a really good person, Will. Really.”

Will blushed a bit, but he smiled nonetheless. 

“Thanks,” he said softly.

The rest of the evening was pleasant. El came out of her room just long enough to eat 

dinner with the family, before rushing back to her room to call Mike again by seven o’clock. Will and Jonathan watched a movie together, while Joyce happily sat in the room, writing something in a notebook. She seemed very into it. Almost everyone slept well that night. Everyone but El.

“- _ heard Nancy is going up to Maine soon to see Jonathan. I’m gonna ask to come too,” _ Mike was saying over the radio.

El lit up when he said this. It had been far too long since she had last seen him, that day at the Byers old house in Hawkins. It was a month before their planned Thanksgiving, and El felt bubbly inside at the thought of seeing Mike again. 

“When?” she asked excitedly.

“ _ Next weekend. _ ”

El wasn’t sure she could wait a week. She’d waited nearly a year for him once, when their love was first blooming. She didn’t think she could ever do that again. She knew there was nothing that could come of wanting him sooner though, so she simply said “okay” softly, smiling to herself. It was times like these that she wished more than anything that her powers would come back. She had been able to at least see Mike before, even if he couldn’t see or hear her. It was painful, being so far apart.

“ _ Um, I gotta get going El. My Mom will get mad if I’m not home by nine,” _ he said.

“Okay. Mike?”

_ “Yeah?” _

“I love you.”

There was a pause and El could practically hear him blushing.

“ _ I love you too,” _ he said softly.

El laughed a bit to herself, while a single tear rolled down her cheek. She meant it, and she knew he did too. He was always shy when he said it, but the way he said it was incredibly magical to her. 

“Goodnight, Mike.”

“ _ Goodnight, El.” _

The radio went silent. El never shut it off. She placed it gently on the nightstand, switching off her lamp and rolling onto her side. Moonlight cast a silver glow across the floor, a comforting light that helped to lull her into a sleepy state. She was just on the verge of falling asleep when she heard it. A giggle, from just outside her room.

El sat bolt upright in bed, a twinge of fear and alertness rushing through her body. 

“Will?” she called out.

There was no answer. El stared at the door, which was cracked open, for a minute before deciding she hadn’t heard anything. She lay back down and closed her eyes. Then it happened again. 

El immediately threw her covers off, getting out of bed. She walked briskly over to the door and flung it open wide, stepping into the hallway. Nobody was there. The only light in the hallway was coming from the bathroom, the nightlight they kept on. Movement caught her eye, at the bathroom door. It was quick, but it looked like someone had opened the door a bit more.

“Will?” she asked again.

There was no answer. El slowly walked down the hallway to the bathroom, running her hand along the length of the wall. She reached the bathroom door and knocked lightly. No response. She pushed the door open and went in, turning on the light.

El breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the bathroom was empty. Rolling her eyes at her own paranoid behavior, she began to turn around.

“ _ Eleven! _ ”

She spun around. Someone had whispered her name. 

“Who’s there?”

“ _ Eleven!” _

The bathtub. It was coming from the bathtub. El cocked her head to the side and walked over to the tub. It was empty though, so that was impossible. 

“ _ Come play, Eleven!” _

Her eyes were drawn to the drain. The faucet was dripping slowly, like it always did. But she had heard that echoing whisper from the drain. 

“Who are you?” she whispered to it.

“ _ We have many names, Eleven. Just like you. Won’t you come play with us? The sewer is a fun place to play, Eleven. Come float with us. _ ”

Thoroughly freaked out now, El stood up and whispered “No,” before leaving the bathroom and turning off the light. She walked quickly back to her room and shut the door, locking it from the inside. It was something she had never done since living with the Byers. Throwing the covers over her head, she tried to tell herself that she wasn’t going crazy. Voices from the bathtub were perfectly normal, right? Right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe this is a slower chapter? I liked writing it though. Were going to start seeing our favorite Losers very soon, I think I've begun to work that out. So yeah, enjoy!


	6. Making Friends

It was two days later when El made her first friends at school. She noticed something about the boy in her Maine History class. He sat near the front of the class in the row in front of El, two desks to the left. She had seen him before, but never really paid attention to him. Her eyes were drawn to him today however. His body language was all wrong. Tense, his hands curling and tapping on the desk impatiently, looking at the clock every minute. El examined him. He was lean and somewhat tall, but he was definitely younger than her by a year or two. His face was soft and thoughtful looking most times, but today it was wrinkled with worry. He looked much older than he was, the way he carried himself. El was drawn to him, wondering just what was upsetting him so much. She decided she would ask him. 

It was difficult to pay attention to the rest of the lecture. She kept watching the boy. He had remained much the same for the entirety of the class, but when it ended he stood up quickly, shoving his books into his bag and hurrying out of class. El had to rush to pack up her own things and follow him. He made his way through the hall like a snake through grass. El was not as graceful, bumping into several people as she gave chase. She stopped when he joined three other boys, waiting for him near his locker. 

One of them was very short and young looking, wearing nice clothes. He had a black pack around his waist, which El thought was odd. Another was tall and wore a funny little cap on top of his curly hair, looking worried as he spoke to the boy El had followed. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the last of the group. 

“Mike?” she whispered.

Upon closer observation, she realized it was not Mike, but it could have been two years ago. Their facial features were very similar, even their hairstyles were similar to how Mike had kept his back in Middle School. The only difference with this boy was that he wore large, thick glasses that made his eyes seem very big. A strange coincidence to be sure, but El snapped out of her staring and focused on the boy she had followed. She decided now was as good a time as ever.

“Excuse me,” she said, stopping in front of the group.

The four of them stopped their conversation and regarded El with looks of curiosity and surprise, as if it were the strangest thing in the world that someone had approached them.

“I saw you in class. Are you okay?” she asked the boy immediately.

His mouth opened, but he didn’t speak at first. He looked at the boy with the curly hair, and El noticed the other two, the short boy and Not-Mike, exchanged a look as well. The nervous boy looked back at her.

“Y-yeah. I’m f-f-fine.”

“What the fuck is going on right now?” Not-Mike leaned over to the shorter boy, his ‘whisper’ not a whisper at all.

“Shut up, Richie,” the shorter boy said, but El had already locked eyes with Not-Mike.

She stared at him intently, examining his features carefully. It was incredible how similar they looked. The color of his hair, his freckled cheeks, even his big eyes were the same color. He looked uncomfortable, looking back at his friends.

“She’s staring at me,” he said.

“Uh, excuse me…” the boy with the curly hair said, breaking El’s attention from Not-Mike.

“What’s your name?” he asked politely.

She almost instinctively responded with ‘El’ before remembering she was at school.

“Jane,” she said.

“Okay… well Jane, what did you want?” the curly haired boy asked, sounding reasonable and adult-like.

El returned her gaze to the stuttering boy. 

“Something is wrong. I was… curious.”

Not exactly the word she wanted, but as close as she could get. It was an impulsive feeling, really. This boy’s demeanor, his very aura, radiated an uncomfortable feeling. She could sense his fear.

“I- My b-brother… M-my bruh-brother went m-m-missing yesterday.”

El regarded the boy with curiosity and a bit of fear. Yesterday. It had been raining yesterday. A big storm. She and Will had spent the day reading comic books and playing board games, as Joyce hadn’t wanted them going outside in the storm. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened at the Byers residence that day.

“I’m sorry. You’ll find him,” El said reassuringly.

She sensed that the conversation was over, but she didn’t want it to be. These boys were intriguing, especially Not-Mike. So she lingered, before asking her next question.

“What are your names?”

The boys looked surprised, but the stuttering boy responded rather than backing down from the question.

“I’m B-Bill. That’s Eddie,” he motioned to the smaller boy, who gave an uncomfortable little wave.

“Stan,” he motioned to the curly haired boy, who nodded curtly.

“And Ruh-Richie,” he motioned to Not-Mike, who stared at El with an eyebrow raised.

“Bill, Eddie, Stan, Richie,” El repeated, making eye contact with each of them as she said their names aloud.

Her eyes once again locked on Richie. He looked around, clearly disturbed by her intense stare.

“Okay, what the fuck is going on? You keep staring at me, and I mean, I know I’m hot and everything, but-”

“Beep beep, Richie!” Stan said, shooting him a look.

“I’m sorry,” El said, “You look like someone I know.”

“Jesus, Richie has a doppelganger? There’s a scary thought,” Eddie said.

“Hey, more of me to love, cutie,” Richie said, pinching Eddie’s cheek.

Eddie pulled away sharply, scowling.

“Fuck you, seriously,” he said, though El noticed a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.

“Boyfriend?” She asked, confused.

Bill and Stan burst out in manic laughter, while Eddie shrieked “NO!” and Richie imitated an exaggerated gagging and vomiting move. El was confused, but the laughter of the other two was contagious. She smiled and laughed.

“Hey, Juh-Jane. D-d-do you want to h-hang out with us after s-s-school?”

***

Will feared the worst when he couldn’t find El at the end of the day. She wasn’t by her locker, she wasn’t near her last class. He even waited by the girls restroom, but she didn’t come out. He was starting to panic. He had faithfully walked home with El for two months after school. They both counted on it and looked forward to it.

“Shit, where are you El?” he muttered to himself. 

He was pacing outside the girls room, so wrapped up in worry that he didn’t notice the girl leaving the bathroom until he could smell the distinct odor of cigarette smoke. He turned and saw her, and his breath was taken away. The girl was pretty. She had long red hair and a freckled face, wearing a dress adorned with daisies. A necklace hung down to her chest, a key at the end.

“What are you doing?” she asked, clearly weirded out that there was a boy pacing outside the girls room.

“Oh! Sorry, I’m looking for my sister. I’m supposed to walk her home.”

The girl gave him a soft smile.

“Well, she’s not in there. Just me.”

“Oh,” Will said, worried about El but also very intrigued by this girl.

“What’s your name? I haven't seen you around,” she asked him.

“I-I’m Will. Will Byers.”

“Beverly Marsh. Nice to meet you, Will Byers,” she said with a smile, holding out her hand.

He shook it, noticing with a strange feeling how soft it was. Her gentle touch sent a chill down his spine, but not in a bad way. It was comforting and made him feel safe. His worries evaporated a bit.

“Well then Will Byers, I guess you’d better find your sister. I’ll see you around.”

Will struggled to find words, finding his mouth had gone somewhat dry. He also became 

aware that he was staring at Beverly, and quickly averted his gaze.

“Yeah! I’ll uh, I’ll see you around.”

He watched her walk away, tossing her long red curls and hoisting her backpack further up one shoulder. Will let out a breath, and gave a small “Wow” under his breath. He shook his head then. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about girls. He didn’t even like girls. Will had decided that he didn’t want to date people, or get into any of that bullshit. He had always shoved down his jealousy of what Mike and El had, or Lucas and Max. Even Dustin and his obsession with Suzie, who had turned out to be real. He tried not to think about it, remembering that he hated all of it. Bullshit. It was all bullshit. 

Will turned his attention back to the matter at hand. El, and where the hell she could have possibly gone. She wasn’t in the school, that was certain. It was almost three fifteen, and he knew that she wouldn’t miss her call with Mike. He turned and headed out the doors, wishing he had brought his bike to school. He jogged home instead, thankful for the cool October air on his face. It only took seven minutes to reach his house, where he flung the door open and went right to El’s room. She wasn’t there. Her radio was untouched on her nightstand. Will felt his throat tighten. He remembered what Henry Bowers had said to him last week, and he bristled with fear. Before, when El had her powers, she could have taught that creep Bowers a real lesson. Without them, however, she was just another normal girl.

Will ran from the house at 3:14, just missing Mike’s call to her radio. He had to find her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I really tried! I hope this isn't garbage, wah D:


	7. The Losers Club

“El, come in. This is Mike. El, do you copy?”

Mike sat on the hill, clutching the mouthpiece of the cerebro. It was 3:27, and El hadn’t answered his repeated transmissions. It wasn’t like her at all. Mike couldn’t help but worry, chewing his bottom lip as he looked out over the town of Hawkins. Bulldozers and wrecking balls were still clearing the wreckage of the Starcourt Mall, much to the dismay of every youth in town. He had to admit, he missed the mall. He laughed quietly to himself as he remembered scouring the place for an apology gift for El, with only a few dollars in his pocket. That had been six months ago, a relatively short amount of time that felt like forever. He wanted the weekend to be here as quickly as possible. Nancy had agreed that he could come with her to Derry, taking the day off from school Friday. They both wanted to spend the most time as possible with their boy/girlfriends. Since the drive took fifteen hours, they planned to leave as early Friday morning as possible, and leave Sunday morning. Two days he would get to spend with El. It was torturous, the distance between them. He wished every day that she could come back, and his best friend as well. He was already making plans to spend the summer in Derry. Dustin wanted to go back to Camp Know Where, and Mike understood. Max and Lucas had told Mike that spending the summer in Derry sounded like an incredible idea.

“El, this is Mike. Do you copy?”

He sighed and looked down at his digital watch. 3:42. El had never been this late before. Once in a while when one of them got held up, it was never more than ten minutes. Trying to reason with his own concerns, he told himself that she had probably gotten held up at school. He had been so excited to tell her the news of his visit. At 5:00 and hundreds of transmissions later, he got up to go home. He would call her at home, on the phone. Screw the long distance charge. He needed to hear her voice.

***

El hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time. It felt good to laugh. Her new friends were the best thing that had happened since moving to Derry. After school, they had gone down to the woods near the Barrens, where El showed them the little fort she had built. They’d shared a lot about each other in a very short time. El learned a saying that Bill used to try to control his stuttering, one that she enjoyed very much. She found herself repeating it, going slow and steady to help Bill with getting through it.

“He thrusts his fists against the posts, but still insists he sees the ghosts.”

Bill was a very interesting boy. El could sense that there was something different about him, like he was born with some kind of magnet that drew you in and held you close. She could sense his wisdom, his knowledge and leadership abilities. It seemed that he was the leader of the group, everyone else gravitating around him and listening intently to whatever he had to say.

She learned all about Eddie’s asthma, and how his inhaler helped him to breath. Eddie was charming in his own way, usually quite polite and quiet. Unless he was arguing with Richie, that is. The only problem was that they argued  _ constantly _ . Eddie became flustered and annoyed with him whenever he said pretty much anything. Sometimes it was quite funny, the way Richie would make a rude comment about his Mom or his breath or his height, which caused Eddie to lose it, spewing all kinds of “Fuck you’s” and “Shut the fuck up’s.” 

She learned that Stan was something they called a ‘Jew’ which meant he didn’t believe in God. That was a bit confusing for El. Stan assured her that he was just as normal as anyone else. He seemed normal. Stan was quiet most of the time, but when he did speak it was almost always mature. He seemed to be the guardian of the group, making sure they followed the rules and stayed safe. 

She learned that Richie was a ‘Trashmouth.’ He said anything that came to his mind, no matter how gross or rude it might be. Richie was truly intriguing. His constant jokes and sailor’s mouth were not like anything El was used to. However, he had a strange ability to switch his personality from loud and obnoxious to thoughtful and wise on a whim. When Bill or El were speaking, he shut right up and seemed to soak in every word. El didn’t really know what to think about him. Apart from his glasses, he could have been Mike’s brother in appearance. That was what confused her the most. She knew Mike’s only siblings were Nancy and Holly. He didn’t have a brother. She wasn’t sure if Richie had any siblings either. She put it on her mental list of questions to ask. 

El told them about herself. How she lived with a really nice family, with two brothers and a loving Mom. She told them about her friends back in Hawkins, and how much she missed them. She hadn’t mentioned Mike Wheeler yet, mostly because she was still trying to figure out why the Hell Richie looked so much like him. They all fired questions at her, asking why she had moved to Derry, asking who it was she knew that looked like Richie, asking if she had ever been swimming or done this or that. It was a bit overwhelming, and she kept some of her answers vague. She didn’t know these kids all that well yet, even if they got along wonderfully. She thought maybe in time she would share more. Not everything, though. She couldn’t tell them everything. 

Now, they sat in a circle around her fort, watching Richie doing impressions. He wasn’t very good at them, but that was what made it funny. He was stomping around in a circle, doing his best Henry Bowers.

“Hey kid, you look at me like that you’ll be wearing your balls for earrings,” he said in a low drawl.

“I like to beat up kids so they won’t know how much dick I suck.”

El was rolling on the ground, her sides aching with laughter. She loved watching Richie perform. She wondered how somebody who looked so similar to Mike could have such a different personality. Mike was quiet and caring, sweet and tender. He was also brave and strong, and always knew what to say to calm everyone down. He could be moody, but what teenager wasn’t? Richie on the other hand, was a total opposite. He was loud and crude, constantly making jokes directed mostly at Eddie or his Mom. His sentences were decorated with a variety of swear words the likes of which El had never imagined possible. He spoke in different accents sometimes, though they weren’t very good. El found it hilarious that he completely butchered most of the voices he did. She found herself focused on him more often than not, the certain charm he had and the ability to make people laugh. A strange, guilty feeling had worked its way into the back of her mind. She reasoned with herself that she only liked Richie so much because he reminded her so much of Mike. For the first time in awhile, El forgot about all those terrible nightmares, and the voices in the bathtub.

“It’s getting late. Curfew,” Stan said, standing up to indicate that their hours of fun were drawing to a close.

“Y-yeah. I g-gotta get home too. M-maybe they found Juh-juh-Georgie.”

El was deep in thought about Bill’s little brother. He hadn’t divulged too many details about his missing brother. She had found out that he was six years old, had been playing outside in the rain, and hadn’t come home. Bill and his parents had searched the streets near their home before calling the police. Bill had gone to school today with the intention of asking as many people as he could if they had seen him. Not a single person had.

“See you guys tomorrow, yeah? Oh Jane, you should come trick or treating with us if you want. Halloween’s coming up,” Eddie said as he stood up.

“Shit Eds, I didn’t think I’d ever get to see you make moves on a  _ girl _ ,” Richie teased.

El rolled her eyes, a bit embarrassed that Richie had suggested that Eddie was flirting with her. Eddie’s face turned red.

“Would you shut the fuck up, for once in your life Richie? Jesus Christ,” Eddie said, clearly flustered.

Richie laughed, and El giggled.

“I would like that. Trick or treating is fun,” she said.

“Yeah, well… Maybe we’ll get lucky and Richie will get a candy apple with a razor blade in it.”

El looked at Richie, then both of them burst out laughing. These boys weren’t like her friends back home, not in the slightest. El felt a sense of rebellion and comfort at the same time being around them. They seemed close. After Eddie left, it was just her and Richie. 

“I should warn you about something, Jane,” Richie said suddenly.

El froze, unsure of what would come out of his mouth next. A warning? She hoped it wasn’t bad. Richie seemed to have dropped his joking demeanor for the moment.

“Yes?”

“If you really want to hang out with us, you should know what you’re getting yourself into. Everyone at school calls us the ‘Loser’s Club,” Richie said.

El had heard about the ‘Loser’s Club’ from some of her classmates. She had never asked anyone about it, but people talked about them. El had overheard jokes and conversations about how unpopular and nerdy they were, how nobody wanted to hang out with them because they were wimps and fairies. El didn’t know exactly what it meant, but it was clear the other kids didn’t like them.

“Loser’s Club?” she asked.

Richie pushed his glasses up his freckled nose.

“Yeah. We're losers. People don’t like us, you know? Cause were different, I guess. Were 

weird.”

El regarded him for a moment, before speaking slowly.

“Then I’m a loser too.”

Richie looked over at her and grinned.

“Looks like we’ve got a new member then. Come on, let’s get out of here. I’ll walk ya home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry its been a bit since I've updated. Y'all really seem to like this fic! :) So I'll try to update sooner next time. I have drafts planned out but I always get hesitant about posting blah!


	8. Time to Float

After El had said goodbye to Richie outside her house, she opened the door to the entire Byers family standing in the living room. Jonathan had been on the phone, speaking frantically. Joyce was pacing back and forth with a look of worry so intense it was scary. Will bolted off of the couch when he heard the door open and flung himself around El, hugging her tightly.

“Where have you been? I couldn’t find you after school, I went all around town, I was so scared that something happened-”

“Will! I’m okay,” she said with surprise as he rambled on.

“We’ve all been worried sick, El! With that little boy that went missing yesterday, and we don’t really know many people here yet-”

“I was with friends,” El interjected, causing Joyce to stop and regard her with a puzzled look.

“Friends?” Will asked.

As far as he knew, she hadn’t made any friends in Derry. She was usually quiet and didn’t initiate conversation with anyone, while only giving short answers to the people who did ask her questions.

“Bill, Eddie, Stan, and Richie,” she said, repeating their names as she had earlier.

Will’s expression of confusion only grew deeper when he heard the names. A group of boys? He immediately felt protective of El, wanting to know just exactly who these boys were and what their intentions were. Will didn’t trust many people anymore. Several years of repeated traumatic experiences would do that to a young man. He didn’t get the chance to ask her about them however, as Jonathan spoke from near the wall mounted telephone.

“Mike’s been calling. About fifty times,” he said, motioning towards the phone.

El’s eyes widened and she let out a small gasp. She had completely forgotten about her usual call with her long distance boyfriend, so wrapped up in talking and playing with her new friends for the last five hours. She ran to her room and slammed the door.

“What is with her?” Will wondered aloud.

“At least she’s making friends. Let’s just be happy that she’s safe,” Joyce said with a small smile.

Will wasn’t so happy though. The fact that she had run off with these boys, without so much as a warning or a phone call made him deeply upset. He hadn’t shown it, but his protectiveness of El was causing all kinds of rampant emotions. He huffed and headed to his room.

…

“I’m so sorry Mike! I was with friends,” El spoke over the landline in her room.

“I was worried, they all said you hadn’t come home,” Mike replied.

He was pacing around his basement hangout, winding the cord of the phone repeatedly around his finger as they spoke. He supposed he should have been angry, but the distance between them was too great to make him that upset over the phone. 

“Mike. I’m okay,” she said, her voice stern but reassuring. 

“Okay… Yeah. Uh, I have some good news,” he said, getting off the subject of her hours long hiatus. 

“You’re visiting?” She guessed.

Mike grinned to himself.

“Yeah! This weekend, I already talked to Ms. Byers and she said it would be great to have us. I’ll be there on Friday,” he said. 

“Friday. Four days,” El said, smiling giddily.

It had been too long since she had seen Mike, and she missed him so much. She closed her eyes and pictured his face, imagined herself in his arms. 

“Four days.”

…

The next day after school, Will found himself walking home alone again. El had told him that she was going down to the Barrens before rushing off. Will had a feeling she was going to meet her new friends there. He felt jealous, since she hadn’t invited him. He did want to meet her friends, mostly to see what they were all about. Deep down, he wanted friends too. He missed his friends in Hawkins badly. They chatted over the radio sometimes, though not nearly as faithfully as El talked to Mike. It had been a few days since he’d talked to any of them. Jonathan had been the one to answer Mike’s phone calls yesterday. Will felt alone.

He was just crossing the kissing bridge a ways from the school when he realized he was going crazy for the second time in a week. He sensed It at first, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up like they did whenever he had sensed the Mind Flayer. He turned around, and there it was. Just at the entrance to the bridge was a single red balloon, floating in the air. Will’s mouth hung open when he saw It, hovering there like an ominous warning. It seemed to defy all laws of physics. The balloon was bright red, and wasn’t tied down. It didn’t bob around like a normal balloon, It was just  _ there _ . Perfectly still, before it suddenly moved. It floated across the bridge toward him, and he knew he was crazy. He shut his eyes.

“It’s not real. It’s not real,” he muttered, before slowly opening his eyes.

The balloon was gone. Will breathed out, turning back around. The clown from before was towering over him, wearing a wicked grin.

“Time to float,” It said, before moving toward him like a ravenous animal.

Will stumbled backward with a yelp, falling and skinning his hands. He scrambled away and ran as fast as he could, back towards the school. He heard shrieking, inhuman laughter from behind him and he turned, bolting into the woods. His heart hammered in his chest as he tore through the underbrush, desperate to get as far away from the clown as he possibly could. He didn’t know where he was going, didn’t really care. He was running for his life. As he came crashing through the trees, stumbling into a clearing on his hands and knees, the last thing he expected was to run into people.

“What the fuck?” One of them shouted, while the rest of the group stood up from their circle on the ground.

Will looked around wildly, the clown nowhere in sight. He must have looked crazy. He felt like he was going crazy, but that clown had seemed so real. 

“Are y-y-you ok-kay?”

Will spun back around and stood up. There were five of them, looking at him with surprised expressions.

“Will?”

“ _ EL _ ?”

El was with them. She stood amongst the group of boys, her eyes wide with shock at seeing her ‘brother’ come barreling through the woods, looking scared out of his mind.

“Who the fuck is El?”

Okay, this was too much for Will to handle. First the clown, then running into El with a group of boys he didn’t know in the middle of the woods, and now he was face to face with his best friend, Mike Wheeler. Will’s mouth hung open as he stared, and it took him a moment to realize that it wasn’t Mike. He looked just like him though. Dark, curly hair, freckles, even the shape of his face was the same. The only difference was the pair of thick glasses that this kid wore.

“Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?” A short, scared looking boy asked.

“Will. What happened?” El asked.

Will swallowed hard, then looked around at the rest of the group. The friends that El had said she was with were real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a few days since an update! Work hasn't allowed me much time to sit and write, but I started vacation today so I'm hoping to get some writing in. I hope this chapter wasn't too bad, I feel like it might be rushed. Lemme know!


	9. Welcome to Derry

“I really don’t know. I thought I saw someth- someone running at me. So I ran,” Will told them.

The group exchanged glances of both worry and doubt.

“What did they look like?” 

“I mean… I didn’t get a good look. Really.”

He was lying. Will hoped that El wouldn’t pick up on it, though she usually did. He was mildly surprised that she kept quiet as he lied to them. Of course he had seen what attacked him. Nobody would believe him if he told them anyway. They would call him crazy.

“You guys still haven't told me your names,” Will said, figuring that was a good way to get off the topic of what he’d been running from.

“Oh… I’m B-B-Bill. B-Bill Denbrough.” Bill Denbrough stuck out his hand, and Will shook it.

He regarded Bill with some curiosity. He reminded Will a lot of himself, for some reason.

“Eddie Kaspbrak,” Eddie shook his hand next, still looking a bit worried.

Perhaps he was the type that was always worried. Will could sense it, the skittishness of his movements and quiet words.

“Stanley Uris. Nice to meet you,” Stan said politely, and Will noticed how his grip was softer than the other two.

“And the best for last, Richie-fucking-Tozier!” Richie grabbed Will’s hand with both of his and shook it wildly, overdramatizing the introduction with the comically absurd handshake and wearing a huge grin.

“T-Trashmouth,” Bill said, though he was smiling too.

El had remained silent as Will was introduced to her new friends. She had been unsure of how he would respond to her hanging out with a group of boys, but he seemed to be relaxing a bit in their presence. They began to speak about how they had come to meet her though. It sent chills down Will’s spine when he realized that Bill was the older brother of the boy that had gone missing over the weekend.

“So, will someone explain to me why you called your sister El?” Richie asked. 

The others looked intrigued as well. Will knew he would have to dumb down the actual reason.

“Uh, yeah. El- uh, Jane is a little different from most of us…”

El gave Will an offended glance.

“Sorry, I mean she grew up different. Where she came from, they had numbers for names. She’s Eleven, so we call her El for short.”

“What, like in the war? The camps?” Stan asked, looking over at El with a renewed sense of wonder.

“Not exactly…”

“Bad place,” El muttered. 

“It doesn’t really matter though,” Will spoke quickly, “She got out of her old home and now she lives with my family. Like my sister.”

The group didn’t look satisfied by Will’s explanation, but they didn’t press either of them any further.

“So, I guess we're all friends now?” Eddie asked.

“Yes. Will is in the Loser’s Club now,” El said, smiling.

“Wait, you guys are the Loser’s Club?” Will asked with surprise.

“Y-yeah. Surp-p-prised?” Bill asked.

“Uh, no. I mean, the way everyone at school talks about you guys, I just thought you’d be different.”

“Different how?” Richie asked, his big eyes narrowing behind his glasses.

“Like, not nice! I don’t know, you guys seem pretty cool I mean,” Will said, embarrassing himself.

“Were not cool,” Stan said with a slight smirk.

“Well then neither am I. You guys remind me a lot of my friends back home. Especially you,” Will looked at Richie.

“I’m one of a kind, baby! There’s no comparing the Rich-Meiser!” Richie said, while everyone else rolled their eyes.

“I mean, you look a lot like my friend. It’s kind of creepy,” Will said and laughed a bit.

“Ha! He thinks you’re creepy, creep!” Eddie said to Richie.

“You’re creepier than me!”

“Um, no. Ten bucks says you ask anyone, they’d think you’re creepy.”

“Your mom doesn’t think so, oh!”

“G-guys! Shut the f-fuck up!”

They spent the rest of the afternoon in the woods. Will had almost completely forgotten why he was there in the first place. These guys were fun, he thought. He hadn’t imagined he would make any new friends in Derry, hell he didn’t really want to at first. He felt completely at home with the Loser’s Club though. They were soon laughing and joking like they had known each other forever. 

“Mike is coming Friday, the whole weekend,” El suddenly told Will.

“Really? That’s great!” Will said, feeling bubbly at the notion of seeing his best friend.

“Who’s Mike?” Eddie asked.

“My best friend from Indiana. Also El’s boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?!” All four of them chorused in shock, looking over at her.

El blushed.

“Yes. My boyfriend.”

They stared at her with open mouths for a moment, before everyone burst into laughter. They laughed for a long time, El included. That was the thing about these kids. They made you feel included, welcome in their misfit group. Will was truly thankful that he had found friends at last.

***

Mike’s first impression of Derry was how similar it was to Hawkins. It seemed like the sort of quiet little town where nothing ever happened. He was glad that El and the Byers hadn’t moved to the big city. He liked the quiet little town. 

“It’s kinda nice, right?” He asked Nancy as she drove.

“Yeah, it’s cute,” she said.

Nancy was absolutely beaming. She was incredibly excited to see Jonathan again, her hand tapping impatiently on the steering wheel. After fifteen hours in the car with her brother, she was more than ready to just  _ get there _ already. Not that the drive had been bad. Since Mike was only fourteen, he couldn’t drive. She had to do all of the driving, so she was tired. Mike had slept off and on for the trip, asking her to wake him up if they were going to pass by anything cool. There was plenty to see, but she let her brother sleep as much as he wanted. When he was awake, they kept themselves entertained by listening to the radio, or giving each other movie trivia. A long drive for sure, but not a bad one.

“Why does El want you to meet her at the library?” Nancy wondered.

“She was going there after school. Were gonna walk back to her house,” Mike replied.

Of course. Nancy understood then why El had asked Mike to meet her there. No doubt before they reunited with the Byers, she wanted some alone time with her boyfriend. It had been a long time since they’d seen each other in person, and Nancy didn’t want to think about how much kissing they had to make up for. 

“Well, there it is. Do you see her?”

“Just drop me off! She’s probably still inside,” Mike said, his leg bouncing as he saw the Derry Public Library, his hand already on the door handle.

“Just be safe, okay? You don’t know this town,” Nancy said.

“I’ll be fine! See you later, bye!” Mike said quickly as Nancy stopped outside the building, bolting out of the car as fast as he could.

He ran inside, looking around for her. His smile wavered. She wasn’t there. Mike spotted the librarian, the only other person in the library, and walked over to her.

“Excuse me. Have you seen a girl in here today?”

“A girl… There was one, just after school. Left about ten minutes ago,” the elderly woman said.

“Thanks!” 

Mike was a bit confused. Why would El leave before he got there? He headed back outside, looking around. There wasn’t anyone around. Mike huffed and decided he’d wait inside. Wherever she’d gone, she would come back. He knew she wouldn’t forget the time. Just as he turned back, a voice spoke from behind him.

“Mike?”

He turned around quickly. There she was. She was more beautiful than Mike had imagined as she walked toward him, a bright smile on her face and her hair glistening in the sun. 

“El!” He ran to her, instinct telling him to throw himself around her, to kiss her.

She held up her hands, scoffing.

“What are you doing?” she asked as if he was stupid.

Mike’s smile faded and he stopped, feeling very confused.

“W-what do you mean?”

“Mike. Are you stupid? Don’t you know?”

Mike was at a loss for words. Why was she talking to him like that? Why was she being so rude and standoffish? His mouth hung open as he tried to gather some sort of response.

“Dumb Mike. You don’t even know. Well, I’ll tell you. I’m dumping you,” she said coldly.

“What?” It came out as a whisper, and Mike thought his heart was being ripped to a million pieces. 

He felt the emotion, heartbreak, fear, and panic deep in his chest. It hurt to breathe.

“I have a new boyfriend, Mike. He’s better than you. He’s smart, and funny, and a  _ way _ better kisser,” she said, a cruel smile playing at her lips.

Tears stung Mike’s eyes. He didn’t know what to say.

“I hate you. I wanted to tell you in person,” she said.

Mike turned away from her, blinking away fresh tears. Why? They had just spoken yesterday, before he was leaving. She had seemed so excited, told him that she loved him. Was it all a lie?

“Mike.” 

Her voice had changed so that it wasn’t hers. When he looked back, El was no longer standing there. Mike gasped in shock and fear as he saw the slimy, grey monster in front of him where she had been a moment before. A monster with long, spindly arms and legs, grey skin and no face. The Demogorgon. Mike shrieked and backed away, the Demogorgon opening It’s jaws and roaring inhumanly. Mike tripped and fell hard on his bottom, pulling himself backwards with his arms while pushing at the ground with his feet. Pure panic coursed through him as the beast lunged at him, It’s claws digging into the grass mere inches from his left leg. He finally got enough of his senses to scramble to his feet and run. He tore across the lawn of the library.

“Frogface!”

Mike turned to see a clown charging at him, only it wasn’t a clown. It had long claws like the Demogorgon, and It’s mouth was open wide to reveal hundreds of razor sharp teeth. Just as It had nearly closed in on him, Mike slammed full force into someone. They both fell, while Mike looked back to see nothing. Nothing at all. 

“Mike?”

Mike turned to where the girl he had just ran into sat on the grass, wearing a look of worry. 

“El?” he whispered.

She reached out and touched his cheek, and Mike could feel how gentle her touch was, how real she was. It was then that he began to cry, throwing himself around the surprised girl. He sobbed into her shoulder, holding her so tightly she found it difficult to breath. She didn’t care though. Something had happened to Mike to make him act like that, so she hugged him back, running one hand through his dark hair as he cried. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I definitely enjoyed writing Mike's arrival in Derry. Not to worry, he'll be having a fun weekend there lol. Hope everyone liked this chapter!


	10. The Quarry

“I don’t know what It was. It was like, you. But not you,” Mike said quietly as he leaned back against the tree, squeezing El’s hand as she sat next to him with her head on his shoulder.

“What did I- uh, It, say?” she asked, not sure that she really wanted to know.

“That… That you were dumping me. That you hated me.”

He neglected to tell her the rest, about the ‘new boyfriend’ part. He didn’t think he could repeat it without crying again.

“I love you, Mike,” she said firmly, squeezing his hand harder to drive her message further.

He looked over at her, and she could see tears beginning to glimmer in his eyes once again. She kissed him, and he knew then that it was all going to be okay.

“There was a Demogorgon. It chased me across the lawn. But right before I ran into you, there was something else. I don’t really know. It was this… clown.”

El drew in a sharp breath, tensing up. Mike felt it immediately.

“What?”

“The clown. I’ve seen him too.”

It was Mike’s turn to tense up. He sat straighter and looked at El with wide eyes.

“When? Where?”

“In my dreams. He is always there, at the lab.”

Mike grabbed her shoulders. 

“When did you start seeing It? I mean, in your dreams?”

“When we moved here. I thought they were just nightmares. That’s what Will says.”

Mike couldn’t believe it at first. What were the odds that they had both seen the same thing? What bothered Mike the most was how the clown had called him ‘Frogface.’ It was a personal issue, the nickname he’d been given by bullies back in Hawkins. How in the hell had It known about that? Mike had had plenty of experience with strange occurrences, there was no doubt about that. His brain began to work rapidly, piecing together everything he knew about his own experiences and the fact that El had seen the same thing in her dreams.

“It’s a shapeshifter. It’s gotta be. I mean, I don’t know for sure, but I know I’m not crazy. El, we saw the same thing. Do you think Will’s seen it too?”

“I don’t know. He hasn’t said.”

Mike was deep in thought. Not ten minutes in Derry, and he had already had some sort of supernatural encounter. He supposed he should be used to it by now. His main concern now was finding out more about what he had seen, and protecting El also. 

“I’m not gonna let anything bad happen. I promise,” he said.

“I know.”

They kissed again, and both relaxed. Mike didn’t know just what the hell he’d gotten himself into, but he knew that at the first opportunity tomorrow he would be investigating. Right now, he was focused on the girl he loved. Tomorrow would have to wait.

\---

Will felt relieved when he saw Mike. When his best friend walked in, hand in hand with El, he got up off the couch and ran towards them. He hugged Mike hard, who relented and let go of El’s hand, returning it. Mike wasn’t usually the type to enjoy a hug from his friends, or even his family. It seemed that the only person he ever hugged was El. Maybe it was because of what he had just seen a few hours earlier, but it felt nice.

Will ended it, realizing with some embarrassment that it was lasting a bit too long. He turned so they wouldn’t see his cheeks turn pink.

“How’s it going?” Will stammered.

“Same old. You?”

“You know. Life is weird.”

El watched the somewhat awkward exchange between the two friends. She sensed that something was off between them. 

“Can we go to your room? I, uh, have to ask you something. It’s really important.”

Will was filled with a feeling of dread. He could see something in Mike’s expression that didn’t sit right, like he had seen something terrible. It almost looked like he’d been crying. He led them to his room, where the three of them sat on the bed side by side. Will noticed Mike was tapping his foot rapidly.

“Have you seen anything strange? Like, since you came here?” Mike asked suddenly, looking right at Will.

Will exhaled, looking up to the ceiling.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because I did. I saw something horrible, only I’m not sure if it was real or not.”

Will swallowed hard, not wanting to think about it. It confirmed that he wasn’t crazy, which should have been some relief. It wasn’t though. It only served to make him more afraid.

“Yes. I saw… I saw the Upside Down again. Only it wasn’t. There was this…”

“The clown?”

Will turned and nodded, on the verge of tears. Mike cursed under his breath and stared at the floor. El put her hand on his shoulder.

“I think It’s a shapeshifter. Maybe it came from there. The Upside Down, I mean,” Mike said.

“I don’t think so. This is different. What did you see?”

Mike told him everything he had seen outside the library, his hands shaking with fear. He told Will how El had seen It too, in her nightmares. By the end of their stories, the three of them sat in silence, their own fears swimming around their heads. They were each thankful for each other in that moment.

“So what do we do? I mean, so far it’s just us. My mom usually gets this stuff, but it’s like she’s oblivious lately. She barely reacts to those missing kid posters.”

Both El and Will looked at Mike expectantly. He always seemed to know what to do in these situations.

“Maybe only certain people can see it. Has Jonathan mentioned anything?”

“No. I mean, he’s gone a lot but he hasn’t mentioned anything weird.”

Mike was lost in thought for a moment.

“Well if It’s not from the Upside Down… then It’s gotta be something to do with this place. Derry, I mean. We need to know if anyone else has seen anything.”

“What about the Losers?” El asked.

“Losers?” Mike’s brow furrowed in confusion.

As if on cue, the phone rang, making them jump. Will got up and ran to it.

“Byers household,” he answered.

_ “Will Byers?” _

“Speaking.”

_ “This is Stan. Stanley Uris?” _

“Oh, hi Stan! Uh, what’s up?”

_ “You guys want to come to the quarry with us? Your friend got there today, right? It’s really warm for October, we want to get one more swim in before winter.” _

“Uh, yeah he’s here. I’m sure they’d like too,” Will said, looking over at the puzzled expressions on Mike and El’s faces.

_ “Great. See you guys soon?” _

“We’ll head over, yeah. Bye.”

“Who was that?”

“The Losers,” Will said with a smile.

***

Mike’s first reaction to meeting El and Will’s new friends was one of complete surprise. They looked like a typical, rag tag group of nerds. Except one. That one stared back at him in equal shock, his mouth agape. He shoved his glasses up his nose.

“Holy shit guys, Richie really  _ does _ have a doppelganger!”

“More like b-bruh-brother.”

“I never thought I’d see the day.”

Richie was uncharacteristically silent. He walked up to Mike, and prodded his chest.

“What the fuck?” He wondered aloud.

“Um, I’m Mike. Mike Wheeler,” Mike said, not really sure what else to say.

He hadn’t expected this, certainly. It was like looking at a mirror image of himself, albeit a few minor differences. He wondered if it were possible he had family here in Maine that his parents hadn’t mentioned. Mike figured he had met all of his Aunts and Uncles at those stupid family reunions they did every summer. Sure, he’d met cousins who had similar features like most families. This was completely different though. This boy Richie could have been his brother. It was eerie, and Mike thought the first thing he would do when he got home was ask his parents about it. Or maybe Nancy would know something that he didn’t.

“Richie Tozier. Well, shit. I’m at a loss for words.”

“For the first time in your life,” Stan said with a grin.

“Well hey, I’m still better looking. No offence Mikey-boy,” Richie smiled.

The Losers introduced themselves, quickly bringing Mike into the fold. He felt a bit overwhelmed by all the questions they fired at him. 

_ “You’re sure you don’t have a brother?” _

_ “So, Jane’s your girlfriend?” _

_ “Whuh-what’s Hawkins l-like?” _

_ “How long are you staying?” _

_ “Ever jumped into a quarry before?” _

The last question, asked by Richie, made a memory come back to him. He grinned when he remembered.

“Yeah, once. Never made it in the water, though.”

They gave him puzzled looks, but didn’t press the subject further. The three of them were beginning to relax, almost forgetting the conversation they had had that morning.

“Okay, well we have a little Loser’s Club tradition here in Derry. You get a nice fat loogie, and spit it over the edge. Whoever wins gets to choose who jumps first,” Richie said with a grin.

They had a blast teaching El how to spit. She was a bit disgusted by the idea at first, especially as the rest of the boys showed her how to do it. Will thought it was hilarious, and Mike was laughing so hard he could barely breathe as they debated who had the best loogie. In the end, it was decided that Bill had won the game.

“Okay, Ruh-Richie goes first,” Bill said.

“What? What about Eds, his was pathetic!” Richie argued.

“Fuck you, just jump Richie,” Eddie snapped.

“No no, fuck  _ you _ mate,” Richie said in his best British accent.

He held up both hands, giving the group his middle fingers before he ran and jumped off the ledge. They all watched with awe as he dove into the water feet first, his hands still giving the gesture. He surfaced and spit out a mouthful of water, calling up to them from far below.

“Alright pussies, come on in!” His voice sounded far away.

“Aw, what the hell,” Will said, running and jumping.

Next was Stan, then Eddie, then Bill. Mike and El stood at the edge, looking down at their new friends waiting for them to jump.

“Kinda wish you could make me fly again,” Mike said with a nervous laugh.

“It will be okay. We can jump together,” El said.

She took his hand, and they agreed to jump on the count of three. When they did, Mike felt like he was flying again. He didn’t know why he’d been so nervous. The drop into this quarry was much smaller than the one back in Hawkins, and he had readily stepped off the edge to save Dustin from being cut up by that jerk Troy. The seven of them played and swam for hours, laughing and having splash fights and diving under. El didn’t like being under for too long though. It reminded her of the Bath. Kissing Mike underwater however, was a wonderful new experience. Eventually, they had moved to the shallow part, treading or sitting on the rocks.

“Welcome to Derry, Mikey-boy. Shittiest town this side of the Mississippi.” Richie said.

“Thanks. Me and my friends back home want to come stay this summer,” Mike replied.

“My friends and I,” Stan corrected automatically, though Mike wasn’t bothered by it.

He was having too good a time to worry about anything. Any thoughts of this morning and his arrival in this town had left his mind. Will and El seemed at ease as well, so they hadn't brought it up yet. 

“That’d be awesome! We can do all sorts of fun shit,” Eddie said excitedly.

“I’d like to m-m-meet your f-friends,” Bill said.

“You guys would like them, really!”

There was a moment of silence as the newfound friends lounged happily in the water. Everyone seemed lost in thought for a moment, smiles on their faces. At least until Will spoke.

“Have you guys noticed anything weird lately? Like, really weird?”

“No, why?” Stan asked.

“Have you seen any, uh… okay, this might sound weird, but have you seen any clowns where there shouldn’t be clowns?”

Richie gave a noticeable shiver.

“Richie?”

“No, I just fucking hate clowns. They creep me out.”

“What are you talking about Will? Did you get too much water up your nose?” Eddie asked.

“No! So, no clowns? No weird stuff? Bill, what about you?”

“N-no. I mean, I’ve b-b-been busy, so I d-don’t know.”

The smiles faded from everyone’s faces. Mike was the only one to look confused.

“Am I missing something?” 

El leaned over to him, speaking softly.

“Bill’s brother is missing, for almost a month.”

Mike felt a chill wash over his entire body. If what they had seen was real, then could it really be a coincidence that Bill’s brother was missing? Mike and Will both knew the true implications of ‘missing’ after Will’s disappearance three years ago. Sometimes people weren’t simply missing.

“I-it’s okay. Were gonna f-f-find him,” Bill said, though it seemed as though the statement was more for himself to hear.

The rest of the group just nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I've realized this is probably going to have to be a multi-story fic. Either that or just a really long one. I've got many plans in my head, and the positive feedback I've received is spurring me onward! Hope this chapter was good, I added a bunch at the last minute before posting so hopefully it all lines up alright. The next chapter is already in outline form, and will have much more action than this one. Anyway, thanks for all the support, good readers!


	11. A Walk in the Woods

It was much colder out of the water than in it. It was mid afternoon when they decided they should get out and find something else to do. After they had climbed out and dried off, putting their normal clothes back on, they headed toward town. 

“We can show Mike around town. Will and El too, you guys been to the park yet? Or the Aladdin?” Eddie was saying.

“The park sounds nice,” El replied.

As they walked the path towards town, they were so wrapped up in conversation that they didn’t notice four figures approaching them. Bill was the first to notice, stopping in his tracks.

“Sh-shit,” he mumbled.

“Well well, if it isn’t the  _ losers _ ,” Henry Bowers said aggressively.

He was flanked by his gang. The quiet, blonde haired Victor Criss, the big and loud Belch Huggins, the tall and menacing Patrick Hockstetter. Mike was confused by the sudden tension that had fallen over the group, but he could also tell that this guy seemed like bad news. His tone and his scowl said it all. The group remained silent, looking ready to run if they had too. 

“So, you’re hanging out with these fairies now, Byers? I should have known,” Henry said.

“Leave him alone,” Mike said without hesitation.

The rest of the Losers tensed up, as Henry’s eyes locked onto the boy. His expression turned to mild surprise as he studied him.

“Didn’t know you had a brother, Tozier. Shame you won’t for much longer,” Henry said, earning laughter from his friends.

He took a step toward Mike. El grabbed Mike’s hand, and Henry stopped.

“What the fuck is this? New kid in town, Jane Byers protecting him… I get it now. I always knew you were a little slut,” Henry sneered at El.

“Shut up!” Mike yelled.

Henry’s face went dark. He looked around at the rest of the group, sizing them up. Easy prey. Henry Bowers was strong for fifteen years old. He would have no problem beating up on these new kids, just as he had done countless times to the Losers in the past.

“You’re dead, kid,” he said, advancing on Mike.

“Fuck off, Bowers!” Richie yelled from behind him.

Henry stopped and turned.

“Okay Tozier, here’s what’s gonna happen. I’ll let the rest of these faggots off easy, but you and your brother here are gonna pay with blood. Grab him,” Henry said, and Patrick grabbed Richie under the arms. 

He easily lifted the boy into the air, as Richie flailed and kicked his legs, swearing at them.

“No!” El shouted, but it was useless.

Without her powers, she could do nothing but watch as Henry closed in on Mike, tears coming to her eyes as fear and helplessness overwhelmed her. Henry grabbed Mike by the collar of his shirt, then pulled something out of his pocket. Mike’s eyes widened in fear as he flicked open a shiny switchblade. He raised the knife to Mike’s face, showing him the blade.

“Let me show you how we do things here in Derry, new kid. All the new kids have to make a blood offering…”

He pressed the blade against Mike’s right cheek, who gasped in pain as Henry drew it across his skin. 

“Stop it! Stop!” 

The rest of the group began shouting all at the same time. Will’s eyes darted to the rest of the Losers, too scared to do anything. El was in tears, screaming. It was Bill who acted first, rushing forward and slamming his body into Henry. Henry stumbled and let go of Mike’s shirt, who stumbled backward out of his grasp. At the same time, Eddie gave a war cry and kicked Patrick hard in the shin. Patrick yelped and dropped Richie, chaos ensuing as the group of Losers ran for their lives. 

“Fucking get them!” Henry yelled, taking a swipe at Bill with his knife and missing by mere inches.

The seven of them ran. At this point, running was second nature. Will, Mike, and El had been running from threats for years. The Losers Club had been running from the Bowers Gang their whole lives. 

“Split up!” Richie yelled.

Throw them off the trail, that was it. Richie cut off into the woods, followed by Eddie who was wheezing uncontrollably. Bill and Stan booked it in the opposite direction, Will tearing into the trees, trying to find the closest route to town. Mike and El stayed straight, hearing the heavy footsteps behind them slowing. Maybe they’d decided to chase the others. Still, they ran all the way into town, collapsing in exhaustion once they had reached the park at Derry’s center. They both breathed heavily as they lay on the grass, staring up at the clouds floating overhead. El turned to him, reaching up and tracing the two inch cut along his cheek, her hand covered in blood.

“Does it hurt?” she asked.

“Not bad. You know what?” Mike said as he wiped more blood from his cheek.

“What?”

“I really hate this town.”

\---

Eddie shook his inhaler, taking a deep drag from it before sighing in relief. He leaned his head back against the tree. Richie was still panting, his head between his knees as he sat across from his friend. 

“Holy shit, you think the others are okay?” Eddie asked.

Richie looked up and pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Hope so. Fucking Bowers can pound sand, the dick,” he grumbled.

Richie hated the Bowers Gang. He had had more run ins with them than the rest of the Losers Club combined. It was common knowledge that his mouth got him into trouble, many times with adults but more often with the gang of bullies. Henry and his goons were a year ahead of the Losers, so eighth grade had been somewhat easier for them. Now that they were in High School however, Henry lurked around every corner, constantly harassing them. Especially Richie.

“I hope Mike’s alright,” Eddie said with concern.

“Oh shit, Mike! Fucking Big Bill saved him, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah he did.”

They were silent for a moment. Richie watched as Eddie shook his inhaler and used it again, his breathing nearly returned to normal. Eddie looked over at him and Richie broke his gaze, eyes averted to the ground once more. He’d found himself staring at Eddie a lot more lately, and it honestly confused the hell out of him. He hated awkwardness, and nothing was more awkward than getting caught staring at someone.

“Come on, let’s get the fuck out of here before Bowers catches up.”

He took Eddie’s hand and pulled him to his feet, before throwing an arm around his shoulders and telling him how cool it was how he’d kicked Patrick. Eddie couldn’t help but smile at his own heroism, something that hadn’t really showed in him before. It felt good.

\---

“Bowers is going to kill you, Bill,” Stan said, standing and breathing heavily with his hands on his knees.

Bill was pacing back and forth.

“F-fuck him.”

“He really wanted to hurt the Wheeler kid.”

“M-M-Mike’s just visiting. I’m m-more worried about Wuh-Will, and Jane.”

Stan nodded, looking back through the trees. It was quiet now, the only sounds were birds chirping in the distance. He took a breath through his nose and exhaled.

“We h-have to p-p-protect them.”

Stan looked to Bill and nodded slowly. Friends helped each other. The thought was terrifying.

\---

“El? Mike?”

Will was panicking. He’d taken a wrong turn, stumbled on a tree root and hit the ground hard. When he picked himself up, everything had changed. Grey, rotten, dead. The familiar stink of decay hung heavy in the air. The air caught in Will’s lungs, as he screamed their names.

“Bill? Stan?”

Nobody was here. Of course not. Nobody could hear him while he was in the Upside Down. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t try though.

“Eddie? Richie?”

Will felt like crying. His entire body shook with terror, and he hunched down. He couldn’t do this. 

_ “Nobody here, Will. Nobody but us, _ ” the voice said from above.

Will gasped and looked up. There It was. The clown that had been terrorizing him for weeks, crouched in the high branches of the dead trees above him. It looked down at him with a wide smile.

“You’re not real! Go away!” Will shrieked.

‘It’s not right,’ a part of Will’s brain told him. ‘You tried that before and the Mind Flayer got you…’

The clown’s smile widened. It giggled, before vanishing from the trees like smoke in the wind. Will’s eyes darted around, before he saw something that sent a chill through his spine. A little girl. She looked scared, clutching a baseball in her hands.

“Where am I?” she asked, crying.

Will rushed over to her, kneeling down and taking her hand.

“We have to get out of here,” his voice trembled.

“I was looking for my ball… Why am I here? Who are you?” she was becoming hysterical.

“I’m gonna get you out!”

_ “No no, Will. Just you and me, remember?” _

Something sent Will backwards, slamming onto the ground on his back. He looked up in horror to see the clown behind the girl, grinning wickedly. 

“No!” Will screamed.

The girl spun around, but it was too late. The monstrous clown wrapped It’s long white fingers around the girl’s arms, lifting the shrieking child into the air. She thrashed and kicked uselessly in It’s grip, as It smiled at Will. It said nothing, instead turning It’s attention to the little girl in It’s hands. 

“NO!”

The clown’s eyes went unfocused, and It opened It’s mouth. Rows of teeth extended outward with a roar, the teeth ripping into her face. Blood splattered like a geyser from where her face had once been, as the monster chomped and swallowed. Will screamed and closed his eyes as the laughter of the clown rang in his ears. 

Then it stopped. Will opened his eyes and looked around, trembling in terror. The woods were back. Everything was quiet, and normal. When his eyes found the bloodstained baseball on the ground however, Will began to sob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally updated, ugh I have a weird habit of writing a bunch of stuff and then going back through and editing for awhile before I post stuff. I hope this chapter wasn't too short? Also, I'm not sure why but I really enjoy tormenting Mike while he's in Derry haha. Thank you for reading!


	12. Jealousy

“I don’t want to go back. I can’t just leave you here,” Mike whispered, running his hand through El’s hair.

They were laying on her bed, holding each other close. Neither wanted it to end, and if it had been up to them they would have lie like that forever, wrapped in each others arms. 

“It’ll be okay. I promise,” El said, though she couldn’t hold back the tears that began to run down her face.

Nothing was okay. They both knew it, the final nail in the coffin had been reuniting with Will, who was sobbing and clutching a bloodstained baseball. He had managed to tell them what he had seen. That same night, there were missing posters hanging on every telephone pole, and a news report quickly showed a picture of a young girl smiling at the camera.

**MISSING**

**Mary Carter, age 6**

**Last seen Friday, October 23rd**

“It’s her. The girl from the woods,” Will had told them through his tears of fear and anguish.

“Then It’s real. It can really get us,” Mike said, fear clutching at his chest.

The realization yesterday had the three of them reeling with terror. Joyce had immediately sensed the mood during dinner, noticing how the three teens were huddled together closer than usual around the dinner table. The cut on Mike’s cheek was obvious as well, blood seeping through the bandage. She suspected that something had happened while they were out with El’s new friends. 

“Oh, it’s nothing Ms. Byers. Just caught a tree branch while we were walking.”

She could sense the lie, but didn’t press it further. Joyce already had her suspicions about the injury, and the nervous atmosphere around them. She would be making a point to speak to Butch Bowers about his son as soon as possible. Nancy and Jonathan had arrived home from the movies shortly after dinner, finding the household gathered around the television. Nobody was speaking, which was odd. Joyce was sitting in her recliner, looking back and forth from the television to the three teens on the couch. El was on Mike’s right, wrapped tightly around his arm. Will was on his left, pressing himself close to his best friend and absentmindedly gripping the sleeve of Mike’s sweatshirt. It would have been adorable if not for how pale and nervous they all seemed to be.

“Jesus Mike, what did you do?” Nancy asked, walking over to inspect the cut along her brother’s cheek.

He flinched away as she reached out, causing her to stop short and her face to scrunch with confusion. It wasn’t the usual flinch she got from him, the moody kid who just wanted his sister to leave him alone. It was a flinch that seemed like he was afraid of something.

“Nothing,” he said quietly, and Nancy couldn’t help but notice the other two seem to draw in a bit closer to him.

“Okay. Just checking,” she said, turning to give Jonathan a raised eyebrow look before they headed to the kitchen.

Nobody had mentioned anything else out of the ordinary since last night. It was driving Will crazy. He sat on his bed, his door closed, staring at the mirror on his door. Tears streaked his pale cheeks and he didn’t bother to wipe them away. He knew the girl was really dead. Killed right in front of him in the most horrific way, devoured alive by a terrible monster. Will felt torn between knowing he should give Mike and El some time alone, but also wanting to burst into her room and curl up between them. He wanted to feel safe, loved, protected. It had been incredibly difficult to tear himself away from them, Mike in particular, last night when the rest of the family went to bed. That was the other thought plaguing his mind, and had kept him up for most of the night. He wanted to be close to Mike. He’d tried to reason why he felt so strongly about it. He supposed that Mike had always made him feel safe, since they were little. His best friend was always looking out for him, and over the years they’d shared things that neither of them had ever told Lucas or Dustin. Little things, with little promises not to tell. Best friends did that, he supposed.

The night was long and sleepless. When he did drift off, Will found himself quickly startling himself awake. He didn’t want to dream. When the sun began to peek through his window, he finally got up off his bed. He didn’t want to be alone anymore. So, he walked quietly down the hallway towards El’s room, deciding that he needed to simply be near somebody. The door was cracked ever so slightly. Will was just about to open it when he looked in, seeing his ‘adopted sister’ and his best friend holding each other, their eyes closed and murmuring whispers to each other. Will froze, and a new feeling filled his stomach, not one of fear or awkwardness. It almost felt like anger, though why he would be angry was an entirely obscure thought. The feeling surged as he watched them brush their noses together, then kissing softly. Jealousy. That was the feeling bubbling inside of Will. But why? It didn’t matter, Will thought as he abruptly turned around and headed for the front door without hesitation. 

_ Why the hell would I be jealous? Because I don’t have someone to hold me like that? No, that’s sappy and gross.  _

Will climbed onto his bicycle, wiping fresh tears away as he raised the kickstand and pedaled out of the driveway.

_ It’s because El is like my sister. It’s just me being protective. _

Will didn’t know exactly where he was going at first. It was still early, he doubted any of his new friends would be up and about yet. He rode towards town, just wanting to be anywhere but near his house.

_ No. I know why, I just can’t say it. Stupid. _

***

Will found himself parking his bike in the rack in front of the Aladdin Theater. He’d been to the small arcade at the Aladdin before. It wasn’t as bright and fancy as the one back in Hawkins, but it would do. Mind numbing video games were always a good way to push aside emotions. He walked in, went straight to the token machine, and put in two quarters. He clutched his tokens and looked around. There weren’t too many people here yet, a small blessing that Will was thankful for. He pretty much had his pick of whatever game he wanted to play. Street Fighter seemed to be calling his name. He could pummel some pixelated characters for awhile and beat out some of that hot, angry feeling in his stomach. Just as he slid his first token into the machine and was brought to the character selection screen, a loud voice startled him from his thoughts.

“Holy shit, Will Byers! Jesus H darlin’ what are you doing here so bright and early?”

Will turned to see Richie Tozier striding over to him, a large soda in his hand and a goofy smile on his face. 

_ He looks just like Mike. _

“Richie, hey. Uh, I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here.”

“I  _ always _ come here. It’s Saturday!” Richie stated, as if it should have been obvious.

He walked over and leaned against the machine, sipping his soda. Will found he couldn’t tear his eyes from the boy. Everything about him reminded him of Mike, except his glasses. Well, his loud mouth too. That was the big difference.

“Um, good to know.”

Richie looked Will up and down, and Will suddenly felt very self conscious. He knew he shouldn’t. Richie looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, his hair was sticking up all over and Will was pretty sure he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Something about the way Richie was studying him though made him feel like he should have at least done something with his appearance before he left the house. There would have been no way to hide the obvious circles under his eyes though.

“Where’s the star crossed lovers, anyway? All worn out from last night?” Richie asked with a wink.

Will felt his cheeks turn pink and he looked back to the screen.

“Still sleeping. I’m always up early, so I left without them.”

“Mhm, yeah I bet. Couldn’t sleep over all that noise, huh?” Richie grinned and did an obscene hip thrusting gesture.

“Jesus Richie, that’s my sister,” Will mumbled.

Richie looked a bit embarrassed, dropping his hands to his sides.

“Oh shit, sorry. That was dumb,” he said.

Will raised an eyebrow. Had Richie ever apologized for one of his jokes before? Not since Will had met him. 

“It’s fine. Do you wanna play?” Will changed the subject, motioning to the game.

Richie smiled widely once more and set his soda down on top of the machine, sliding in close next to Will. 

“Does a bear shit in the woods?” he smirked, then threw an arm around Will’s shoulders.

Will felt his breath catch in his throat as Richie leaned in, still wearing that goofy grin. Will could smell spearmint gum and tobacco smoke on him, and for some reason it was absolutely intoxicating.

“You are looking at Derry’s Street Fighter champion, three years running. Get ready for an ass ramming, William.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this chapter is much more tame, but I wanted to start establishing certain relationships in my crossover universe. I definitely like the Will/Richie friendship dynamic and want to explore that a bit in the next chapter. On another note, I want to figure out bringing in other members of The Lucky Seven and The Party, but I suppose I'll see where my ideas take me. Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed!


	13. The Kissing Bridge

The boys played Street Fighter for nearly two hours, lost in their world of video games and conversation. Will had to admit, Richie was insanely good at the game. It was hardly a competition at all, as a matter of fact. He had even allowed Will a head start a couple times, and he still lost each and every round. Will wasn’t upset about it though. He was having a great time playing with Richie, enjoyed talking with him. At first their conversations had been mostly Richie chattering away about whatever came to his mind, but Will found himself beginning to include himself more and more in the dialogue, to the point where he was making snappy comebacks to Richie’s jokes.

“You fight like a bitch, Willy-kins!”

“So, like your mom?”

“Holy shit, Will Byers gets off a good one!”

They were laughing so loud at this point that one of the employees eventually told them to tone it down. This only had them laughing harder, trying to contain it so their fits of hilarity came out like squeaks and snorts. When they had finally exhausted all of their quarters, they left the arcade together, deciding to walk their bikes and continue their conversation on the streets of Derry. 

“So, how’s Mikey doing? Eds was all worried about him.”

“Alright, I think. He’s tough, you know?”

“Yeah, sure. Too bad he caught Bowers on a bad day.”

“Bowers has good days?”

“Well not really. Can’t be easy being that fucking ugly though, right?”

Will smirked. He took a sip of the soda that Richie had bought him on the way out of the arcade, looking over and pondering him for a moment. He seemed so happy, his big lopsided grin hadn’t faded since the arcade. Will wondered if it hurt to smile that much. He hadn’t had many reasons to smile or laugh lately, but hanging out with Richie seemed to have completely turned that around. The good mood was infectious. Still, creeping thoughts worked their way through Will’s head as they walked down Main Street. A bloodstained baseball, a little girl crying for help. El and Mike, holding each other close. Loneliness, fear, and jealousy. It was a lot to process.

“You ever liked someone, Richie? Like, like, I mean.”

Richie turned, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, sure I have. She’s beautiful, the most beautiful girl you could imagine. She gives the warmest hugs, the sloppiest kisses, and she’s fucking great in the sack.”

Will was surprised. He hadn’t imagined someone like Richie could have a girlfriend, let alone be doing  _ that _ stuff with her.

“Who is she? I haven't seen you with any girls at school.”

“Oh, she doesn’t go to our school. Graduated, actually.”

“Really?” Will scrunched his face in confusion.

“Yep. Who would have thought I’d have the perfect love story with Eddie’s mom?”

They both stopped, turning to each other in silence for a moment. Then they both burst out laughing again, and Will wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop. Several passersby on the street turned to look at them, several rolling their eyes. 

“Oh my God Richie, I believed you!”

“Our love is pure, don’t you mock what we have!”

It took them awhile to calm down again, and Will had to wipe away a few tears of laughter. His sides hurt from it, but he felt so good. He didn’t want the moment to end.

“Well, what about you?”

“Huh?”

“You asked me if I liked anyone, now it’s your turn. Do you?”

“Uh, I don’t really know. It was kinda just a thought I had.”

Richie grinned.

“You  _ do _ like someone. Well, who is it?”

“Nobody! I mean, the whole girlfriend thing is overrated. Annoying.”

Richie seemed to think it over before nodding and sipping his second large soda of the day. They continued through town until they found themselves in a nice residential neighborhood. Will was mostly following Richie, who seemed to have a destination in mind. They approached a nice two story house, and Will hung back a bit while Richie bounded up the steps.

“Is this your place?” he asked.

“No no, my place is a shithole. We are here to find some breakfast,” Richie said, then began pounding on the front door.

After a moment of continuous knocking, the door flew open to reveal a very irritated looking Eddie, still in his pajamas. 

“Beep beep Richie, holy fuck! Knock like a normal human being!” 

“Did I wake you up, Spaghetti? Why are you in your jam jams?”

Eddie’s face turned red, and Will smiled when he saw the cotton pajama pants complete with little bears on them. Richie waved Will over, ruffling Eddie’s hair as he marched into his house like it was his own. Eddie rolled his eyes and greeted Will, telling him to come on inside.

“Fucker always shows up Saturday morning and raids my cupboards. I mean, he could at least hit up Bill or Stan once in awhile.”

“It’s cause your mom buys all the best shit, Eds! Last time I tried Bill’s all they had was apples!” Richie called from the kitchen.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize we were here to steal your food,” Will apologized.

“Oh don’t be sorry.  _ Fuckface _ thinks this is how breakfast works,” Eddie yelled out the insult.

They headed to the kitchen to find Richie sitting on the kitchen table, already working on his second package of Devil Dogs. Eddie snatched the box away from him and offered them to Will, who took one with a polite “Thank you.” 

“So, where’s my fair lady? I wanted to introduce William to my sexy lover,” Richie said through a mouthful of cake.

“Shopping in Bangor, I didn’t feel like going. I hate trying on clothes,” Eddie rolled his eyes.

“Too bad, I was really getting in the mood on the way over.”

“Shut the fuck up Richie! So Will, how’s Mike doing?” Eddie asked, turning to the quiet teen leaning against the wall.

Will knew that Eddie’s worries were legitimate, but he was honestly getting annoyed that everyone he talked to kept bringing up  _ Mike. _ Just yesterday, he had been relieved and ecstatic that his best friend had arrived at his house. He was comforted when Mike had revealed the things he had seen, proving that Will wasn’t alone or crazy. He had stayed close to him all evening until bed, he had felt safe and cared for. Something had changed that morning though, something that had been lurking in the back of his subconscious for over two years. He had only just put a finger on his jealousy a few hours ago, and he really wanted to forget. He wanted to scream at Eddie, shake him, cry, tell him about the girl that had been murdered before his eyes yesterday. He didn’t though. Just because Will wasn’t crazy doesn’t mean that these guys wouldn’t think he was.

“He’s fine,” Will said shortly, taking a bite of his devil dog.

Eddie cocked an eyebrow, though he didn’t question the obvious impatience (annoyance?) in his tone.

“Well, you guys wanna watch cartoons or something? We can get the rest of the group together later.”

“It’s a date, Spaghetti Man!”

“Call me that one more time, and you’re banned from my house for life.”

…

The smell of breakfast cooking was heavenly. It filled the entire house with the scents of sizzling bacon, eggs, and buttery toast. El and Mike couldn’t resist the temptation of a good meal. Neither of them had been particularly hungry after the events of yesterday afternoon, skipping lunch and dinner. Most of the time, El ate either cereal or Eggos for breakfast. On the weekends however, Jonathan always cooked breakfast for the family. He had really gone all out today, most likely trying to impress Nancy. There were scrambled eggs, an enormous plate of perfectly cooked bacon, sausage, homemade home fries, a tower of pancakes with real Maine maple syrup, and toast with butter. Jonathan was still at the stove, frying even more bacon, Nancy and Joyce already at the table. Both El and Mike’s eyes widened when they entered the kitchen to find the meal- no, feast- on the table.

“Oh my God, this is amazing!” Mike said as he sat down, grabbing some of everything and piling his plate high.

It earned a look of disapproval from Nancy, who had always been annoyed by the way her brother ate, but Jonathan was smiling. 

“A bit more lively this morning, huh?” Joyce beamed as El dug right in as well, choosing pancakes first.

“Where’s Will?” Jonathan asked.

Everyone looked around, Joyce with a slightly concerned expression. It wasn’t like Will to sleep past nine o’clock, especially on the weekends when there was a home cooked breakfast and morning cartoons. She stood and peeked out the window.

“His bike’s gone. Ugh, I really wish he’d at least leave a note,” she said exasperatedly.

“He’s a kid, Mom. Besides, Derry is probably the safest, most boring town on the planet. I’m sure he’s fine.”

El and Mike exchanged a worried glance. After everything that had happened yesterday, why would Will have gone off by himself? It seemed last night that he hadn’t wanted to be more than a few feet from them at any time, even seeming nervous when any of them went to use the bathroom. It was definitely a surprise.

“Still, he  _ knows _ I don’t like it when he just… disappears.”

After that, nobody mentioned it again. El felt anxious for the rest of breakfast however, getting slightly impatient as Mike put away three full plates of food. She would still never understand how boys could eat so much. Nancy recruited the two with putting away the leftovers and helping with the dishes.

_ “Jonathan cooked, it’s only fair for us to help clean up.” _

Once the kitchen was clean, they immediately headed for the door.

“Off so soon?” Nancy asked.

“Yeah, were going to find Will.”

“When you do, tell him to call!” Joyce added from the living room.

They rushed out, looking up and down the street. Neither of them really knew where to start looking. Deciding that their best bet would be in town, the couple headed off towards Derry’s Main Street in search of their friend. There was nobody at the park, and only a few people at the Aladdin Theater were playing arcade games. It wasn’t even playing movies yet, given how early it still was. They walked all over town, on a mission to find their friend but at the same time happy to have an excuse to be together, just the two of them without anyone else to interfere. They held hands the entire time, something that Mike had used to think was too cheesy to do. The act felt good now, especially after yesterday's events. 

“Where do you think he went?”

“We could try the Barrens.”

They walked side by side, hands still clasped together. It was still quite warm for the end of October, though definitely colder than that time of year in Hawkins. Still, Maine was lovely in the fall. The trees had turned beautiful shades of red and orange, endless leaves covering the sidewalks that crunched under their shoes as they walked. It only took ten minutes to reach the Kissing Bridge and the path to the Barrens.

“They call this the Kissing Bridge,” El said with a smile.

Mike turned and his cheeks went pink. He didn’t understand why he’d been so shy about their relationship lately. He supposed they had started off hot and heavy, with hours long make-out sessions in direct defiance of Jim Hopper’s rules. After their breakup last summer, and their subsequent return to being an item, Mike felt like he should take things slow. He closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss her softly and slowly, savoring the moment. A part of him was still terrified that she would leave again, or that something would take her away. Holding her close, one arm wrapped around her waist and the other in her silky hair, he silently vowed that he would never let anything happen to her. The moment ended when a small giggle echoed from the woods.

“What was that?” El asked fearfully, whipping around to look for the source of the sound.

“Who’s there?” Mike called out.

Silence. There didn’t appear to be anybody in the woods, though the giggle had sounded close. They grabbed each other’s hands again and tentatively walked towards the trees. Just as they stepped onto the path, the giggle could be heard once more, deeper into the woods.

“Come out! That’s not funny!” Mike yelled as El squeezed his hand tighter.

They both jumped as the giggle became a laugh, accompanied by the crunching of leaves as a small child ran through the trees and out of sight.

“Hey!”

They picked up their pace, calling for the child that had run further down the path. They could see the small figure occasionally weaving in between the trees, running in a zigzag pattern. At one point, they were both running, before coming to the end of the path at the riverbank. They looked around, breathing heavily. 

“I don’t like this,” Mike said.

“I know.”

They both noticed the drainage pipe at the same time, sticking up out of the ground just to their left. A red balloon was tied to it, floating lazily from a long white string.

“We should go,” Mike said, and El nodded.

When they turned, another balloon was tied to a low tree branch just in front of them. 

“They weren’t there before,” El whispered.

There were more, hundreds of them. Balloons tied to every tree, high and low, basking the forest in red. Hands locked together, El and Mike began to sprint back along the path towards the Kissing Bridge as the balloons began to pop. It sounded like hundreds of gunshots echoing through the trees, drowning out any other sound. They had nearly reached the bridge when the explosions stopped, and they both skidded to a halt. A girl was standing in front of them. 

“Have you seen my ball?” 

El shook her head slowly, mouth hanging open in fear. The girl’s dress was torn and bloody, and as she brushed her matted hair aside, El suddenly felt unable to breath. Half of the girl’s face was gone, only shredded, bloody remains left. 

“Holy shit!” Mike yelled, yanking El backward.

They both stumbled and fell, the existing half of the girl’s mouth turning up into a twisted half smile. She laughed, but the laugh was not her own. It was deep and guttural, an inhuman sound that made the two teens desperately scrabble backwards, desperate to get as far away as possible. The sound stopped suddenly, the woods becoming eerily quiet. The girl was gone, as if they had blinked and she’d disappeared. El clung to Mike so tightly her knuckles were white as she gripped his sweatshirt. She could feel him trembling. 

“What- what was that?” she managed.

“It- the Shapeshifter- holy shit.”

Mike got up first, pulling El to her feet. Her legs felt like jelly. It was now more than ever that she wished she had her powers back, so she could just make this stop. She felt so weak, and so very afraid. Whatever this thing was, there was nothing she could do to stop It. It would devour them all. Nobody was safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, another chapter! It's currently 3:30 AM, I have to work tomorrow, but that aside I have decided to post. If it doesn't make sense, refer to the previous details of this note. As always, thanks for reading!


	14. The Television

Will, Eddie, and Richie had been together all morning, watching cartoons in Eddie’s living room. Will and Eddie sat on either end of the couch, while Richie was positioned upside down in the recliner that was usually home to Sonia Kaspbrak. The television was currently playing Looney Toons, the boys having a grand time trying to imitate the iconic Woody Woodpecker laugh. Richie’s impression was best of all, and had them all cracking up. When the program ended, it switched to some little kids show with an overly cheery female host, surrounded by children.

“This show is fucking stupid,” Richie exclaimed with a sigh.

_ “Hey there kids! Today were going to learn about the letter ‘S.’ S is for sewer! The sewer is  _

_ a great place to play with all of your friends…” _

“Yeah, let’s watch something else,” Will agreed.

That show gave him the creeps. Any number of kid shows were creepy in their own way, but this one just gave him a bad feeling. It always seemed to be playing when the channel was changed, always on in the background when nobody was really watching television but they kept it on for background noise. Before Eddie could change the channel however, a frantic knocking at the front door made all of them jump. 

“Jesus, can’t anyone just knock like a sane person?” Eddie grumbled as he got off the couch, stretching before heading to the door.

Will waited with anticipation for the person knocking to be revealed. Richie just yawned, not sensing the way Will had sat up straighter on the couch, eyes darting around the room before becoming fixated on the entryway. Will could see the entryway from where he was sitting on the couch, but he was at an angle so that he could only see Eddie as he opened the door to speak to the mysterious person outside.

“Yeah, he’s here. Are you guys alright?”

Will couldn’t help but let his jaw drop when two people entered the house, looking around before making eye contact with him. El and Mike stood there, clearly out of breath and disheveled. El still had a couple of leaves in her messy hair, her clothes dirty. Mike’s hands were scraped and covered with dirt. 

“Will! We’ve- you’re okay.”

Will raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’m fine. How’d you guys know I was here?”

“We tried everywhere! The park, the Aladdin, the Barrens,” Mike said, clutching at his chest as he tried to explain between labored breathing.

“Wow, that’s not creepy or anything,” Richie said, still hanging upside down in the recliner.

El and Mike exchanged a strange look, before turning back to Will.

“Can we talk to you? Alone?”

Will didn’t like where this was headed. He’d had a wonderful morning, despite everything that had happened to him over the last two months and more particularly, this weekend. El and Mike’s arrival had only served to remind him that there was a looming danger surrounding them, waiting to take them when the time was right. He knew that Richie and Eddie had no idea what was going on, considering the confused looks on both of their faces. Still, he wondered if it was a good idea to tell them about what had been happening. As he became closer friends with the Losers, a part of him wanted to tell them of the danger that they seemed to be in. At the same time, none of them had seen the things that he, El, and Mike had seen. Could telling them put them put them in danger too? He looked back to the two boys in the living room as Mike waved him towards the kitchen, simply shrugging his shoulders to let them know that he was just as confused as they were.

“What is it?” Will asked shortly once they had retreated to the kitchen.

“You were gone. We were worried,” El began.

“We went looking for you. Everything was fine until we went to the Barrens. It was there,” Mike said, his tone hushed and hurried.

“What was there?”

“It. The- well, it wasn’t the clown. It looked like a little girl, only…”

Will felt a chill run down his spine. He knew exactly what was coming next, and he didn’t want to hear it. He shook his head, eyes darting back towards the living room. He figured that at least Richie was probably trying to hear what they were saying, why they were being so mysterious. He suddenly spoke louder, cutting Mike off with a tone that he hoped could be heard from the living room.

“Don’t worry guys, I’ll call my Mom and tell her where I am. Jeez, I didn’t think she’d be that freaked out.”

He turned and headed back to the living room, ignoring El and Mike entirely. He asked Eddie if he could use his telephone, quickly explaining that his mother was worried sick when she found out that he wasn’t home that morning. Eddie nodded in understanding. His mother constantly kept tabs on where he was, who he was with, and when he would be home. He directed Will to the telephone in the hallway, where Will called his mother and explained that no he wasn’t dead or in danger, he was just at a friends house and would be home later. Yes, El and Mike were there now, he didn’t understand why she’d been so freaked out that she had to send them chasing after him. They found themselves in Eddie’s living room after the call, where Eddie and Richie had been speaking in hushed tones. They quickly halted whatever conversation they had been having when the three teens entered the living room. Nobody spoke at first, an awkward silence hanging over the room that was finally broken by Richie.

“Jesus, what the hell have you two been up to? A little romp down in the woods?” he asked, a grin playing at his lips.

El looked to Mike, who just chuckled dryly.

“Yeah, I guess so. We, uh, sorta fell.”

“Both of you?” Eddie wondered.

“Yeah right on top of each other,” Richie quipped, only to be sharply shushed by Eddie.

“Uh, well, I guess I tripped and pulled El down with me,” he tried to explain, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

It was an obvious lie, and Will felt like he was going to panic. He quickly tried to change the subject, nearly fumbling over his words as he asked if everything else was okay at his house. Mike seemed relieved, explaining to Will that they had had an enormous breakfast courtesy of Jonathan, and they had been all over town searching for him when he hadn’t joined them that morning. 

“Are you fucking joking? We had Devil Dogs for breakfast, Christ!”

“ _ You _ had Devil Dogs for breakfast, dipshit. That’s what you get for coming here to raid my house for food.”

“You guys are welcome to come over any time. My brother always makes breakfast on the weekends,” Will offered.

“Well shit Willy-kins, that would have been nice to know earlier!” Richie exclaimed, though the jest was half hearted.

He wasn’t upset that he had missed out on such a wonderful breakfast. A bit disappointed, but the morning he had spent with Will and eventually Eddie as well had been one of the best he’d had in a long time. It was far better than scrounging the cupboards of his own home for the dusty dregs of cereal or a stray packet of oatmeal. Richie didn’t usually eat breakfast anyway, since there wasn't any decent food in the house. Two large sodas and three packages of Devil Dogs was plenty for him. It wasn’t really the food that had mattered that morning, having his new friend as company was enough to distract him as it was. Richie was quickly growing to enjoy hanging out with Will, almost as much as he enjoyed hanging out with Eddie.

“You guys are welcome to stay,” Eddie offered, gesturing to the couch. 

They sat down between Will and Eddie, the couch completely filled at this point. Will’s stomach fluttered as Mike sat next to him, close enough that their shoulders pressed together. Then that stupid jealousy returned as his eyes were drawn to where Mike was clasping El’s hand tightly. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He quickly averted his gaze, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. He desperately wanted to hold Mike’s other hand, though he kept his senses enough to know that it would be pretty weird if he did. He settled for leaning a bit more of his weight onto his friend, the other not really seeming to mind. Good enough.

It took a little while, but eventually everyone started to relax. El felt safe again, at home with her friends and with Mike so close to her. She mostly listened to the conversations that hummed around the living room, smiling and laughing when Richie started harassing Eddie again. He sure knew how to lighten the mood. The television was still playing in the background, though for the moment it seemed to have been forgotten by four of the five teens. El couldn’t help but allow her eyes to be drawn to the screen. Something about television had always appealed to her. Over a year of nothing to do but watch it had left her with a bit of an addiction to the TV. As everyone else was chatting, El’s brow furrowed as the program played.

_ “-and our favorite place to play? Try the sewers!” _

The show didn’t really make sense. The woman spoke to the children, who cheered gleefully after she spoke. 

_ “We’ll have a wonderful time in the sewers. Should we invite our new friend?” _

El’s eyes were transfixed on the screen now. The chatter among her friends seemed to fade away, even their presence. Despite being squished between Mike and Eddie, holding Mike’s hand, she couldn’t feel them. She felt numb, yet at the same time a feeling of sudden clarity had taken her over. 

_ “Come play with us in the sewers! Come play with us Eleven!” _

El stood abruptly, breathing heavily as she searched the room wildly. Was It here? She expected to see the clown lurking in a corner, waiting for her. Everything seemed normal though. Even the television program had quickly righted itself, the subject of the show being how to count to ten. All conversation halted, all eyes turned to El. She was met with looks of concern.

“Jane, you’re bleeding!” Eddie said, looking scared.

El absentmindedly raised her hand to her nose, to find that she was indeed bleeding. Sticky 

red blood coated her fingertips, dripping steadily from her left nostril into her hand. Mike was the first to spring to his feet, asking Eddie where his bathroom was as he wrapped an arm around her. Will was sitting bolt upright. He knew what nosebleeds meant for El, though she hadn’t had one in months. Not even when she tried to use her powers, which had seemed nonexistent. What had led to it happening? They had all been talking, nothing out of the ordinary. El was usually quiet in group conversations anyway. His eyes flitted toward the television. It was still playing that kids program, not the static El usually needed to make her powers work. She also needed silence, and darkness. What had happened?

…

“El? Are you okay?”

Mike stood awkwardly in the bathroom as she stood over the sink, breathing shakily and allowing the steady flow of blood from her nose to drip into the sink. She only nodded, reaching for the roll of toilet paper and holding it to her nose. It was soaked through quickly, discarded in the toilet.

“Did you see something? Was it… your powers?” Mike whispered.

“I don’t know. The TV said my name and then… this,” she said, continuing to blot at the blood still running from her nose.

“The TV said your name?”

El nodded again. The flow of blood had slowed to a small trickle, so she turned on the sink, watching the water rinse all traces of it down the drain. She remembered that night in the bathroom, when the bathtub had been speaking to her. Voices in the drain. Another image flashed through her mind, one from just a few hours earlier. The drainage pipe in the Barrens, a red balloon tied to the grate. Suddenly, the realization took hold and she gasped.

“The sewers,” she said.

“What? What sewer?” 

“Here. The sewers in Derry. I think… I think It lives there.”

Mike’s eyes widened, and he took her arm. 

“We should get out of here. The guys… if It’s after us, they’re not safe.”

When they got back to the living room, they were greeted by the sight of Eddie shaking his aspirator, then breathing in the medicine. Will stood up when they entered, and even Richie had turned himself right side up in the recliner, watching them with an incredulous expression. 

“You okay, Jane?” he asked.

“You know, nosebleeds are common in cold weather cause it like, dries out the inside of your nose, but you should really get it checked out, it can mean all sorts of things and if you’re not careful-”

“Eddie!”

Eddie stopped to glance at Will, who had cut him off. He didn’t look angry, but his expression was very serious.

“She’s okay. She used to get nosebleeds all the time,” he explained softly.

Eddie stopped and nodded in acknowledgement, his gaze turning to the girl. She gave him a half reassuring smile, and a simple “Yes.” He breathed a sigh of relief. Anything of a medical nature bothered Eddie greatly, and he silently thanked the heavens that his mother hadn’t been here to witness it. She would have gone off the rails, kicking everyone out and telling Eddie if he hung around the girl he would be sure to get cancer or AIDS. 

“Well uh, we have to go,” Mike began, El nodding in agreement.

“Go where?” Richie asked.

Mike and El looked at each other, trying to figure out exactly where they should be going. Both knew that they needed to leave Eddie’s house, or risk putting their new friends in danger. They also had no idea what their next move should be. The appearance of whatever It was seemed to be completely random. Neither had a plan on how to prepare for their next encounter. Will quickly interjected, sensing the same vibe he had felt when they first arrived.

“The library! That’s right, Mike wanted to see the library today, and we’ve got homework so…”

Richie raised an eyebrow, glancing at Eddie who just shrugged. 

“The library is boring as shit, Mikey-boy,” Richie stated plainly.

“Yeah well, I like books,” he gave an awkward laugh.

Something definitely wasn’t right. Richie was itching to find out what they were hiding, this big secret that they clearly had to lie about. Hundreds of possibilities flooded his brain, though each conclusion seemed more ridiculous than the last. Was Mike a secret agent, sent to Derry to investigate some big conspiracy? Was Jane an alien hellbent on taking over the town, warping the minds of others to do her bidding? Was Will a mass murderer using his friends to cover up his crimes? As wild as his imagination was, Richie couldn’t see any of those scenarios actually taking place. Ever since meeting Jane, it had been one weird thing after another. The mysterious Mike Wheeler arriving in Derry had seemed to spark an influx of strange happenings. Richie couldn’t help but ponder the Mike situation. So far he’d had no luck in uncovering anything about him. His parents had been pretty useless on that subject, more annoyed that he was asking them questions about family relations than anything. Still, he wondered if Mike was some long lost brother or faraway cousin. Maybe he was a clone? Or maybe Richie was the clone, and Mike was the original copy? It couldn’t be coincidence that the two of them looked so creepily similar. 

“Eddie, thanks for having me, really it’s been a great morning. We’ll have to hang out again soon,” Will said, ushering Mike and El towards the door.

“Yeah, cool. Hey Mike, you’re leaving tomorrow right? We should all get pizza or something tonight, if you guys don’t have other plans.”

“Uh, yeah! Sounds good Eddie, we’ll call you,” Mike said, practically being pushed out the front door by Will at that point.

“Bye bye weirdos!” Richie called out, Will looking back and giving him a quick wave before the door shut.

“Those guys are hiding something,” Eddie said as soon as they were alone.

“No, you think? Jeez, they seem like perfectly normal kids,” Richie said, his tone laced with sarcasm.

“It had something to do with Jane. Right after that nosebleed, Will and Mike were both freaking out!”

“Maybe she’s dying,” Richie suggested.

“I don’t know… Will said she used to get them a lot.”

“Maybe she’s an alien. Remember what Will said, about why they call her El?”

“Really, dumbass? No, there’s something were missing. We’ve never seen her get a nosebleed at school, right? Then she’s just sitting here and starts gushing blood all of a sudden! Will and Mike freak out, they ditch us real fast… It doesn’t make any sense.”

“I’m still going with alien. She’s definitely a fucking alien.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry its been awhile! Work has been kicking my butt lately. Anyway, hope this chapter was worth the wait. The next one will be introducing another member of the Losers Club :) Thanks for reading!


	15. A New Friend

“Is it your powers? Did they come back?”

Will asked the question in a hushed whisper as the three teens walked briskly toward the library, El leading and the boys right behind her. Even though it had been a spur of the moment excuse, the library actually made sense. Maybe they could find something in its records about what exactly was happening in this town. El didn’t respond to the question, suddenly stopping on the sidewalk and nearly causing Will and Mike to run into her. 

“What is it?”

They found where El was looking, to the side of the street. There in the gutter was an empty Coca Cola can, slightly dented and laying on its side. She walked over and picked it up, placing it upright on the sidewalk in front of her. Looking around to make sure nobody else was watching, she extended her hand. She focused intently on the can, the boys watching with bated breath as she closed her eyes. She could see it, feel it, directing every bit of her mind and body into crushing it. A full minute passed, then two, while the can stayed mockingly intact. El gave a frustrated cry and kicked it as hard as she could, watching it clatter back into the gutter. She felt Mike’s hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay. Come on.”

Will chewed his bottom lip as they continued onward, swiping at the fallen leaves on the sidewalk with his foot. Whatever had happened back at Eddie’s house couldn’t have been a coincidence. Mike had explained quickly that the television had ‘spoken’ to El, just before the massive nosebleed. Will’s thoughts kept bringing him back to the Upside Down. Was the other world connected to all of this? It would make sense. What didn’t make sense was that there was no indication of a Gate opening here in Derry. Before, the opening of a gate caused all sorts of strange environmental effects. Will remembered how the farms in Hawkins had suffered severe decay, and how the machine built underneath Starcourt Mall a year later caused magnets to simply fall off their surfaces. Nothing like that had happened yet. As they approached the library, it was Mike who stopped this time. Will could see the hesitant look on his face, eyes scanning the lawn in front of the building.

“What’s wrong?” Will asked.

“This is where I saw It. When I first got here…”

Will shivered, and he knew it wasn’t just the cool October air. He put on his best game face though, placing what he hoped was a reassuring hand on Mike’s shoulder.

“Were all here this time. I think we’ll be alright.”

Mike gave him a small smile that made Will’s heart melt just a bit. He felt his heartbeat speed up as Mike uncharacteristically pulled him into a quick sideways hug. It was very brief, but it meant the world to Will. The three teens headed into the library, looking around. There were a few people here and there, silently reading. The librarian, the same older woman that Mike had seen yesterday, was organizing a stack of books at the front desk. Mike approached the desk, politely asking the woman for directions to the library’s historical section. Once they were pointed in the right direction, they hurried over. El hung back while they perused the shelves for something, anything that could give them a clue as to what was going on. She scanned the library, noticing only a few people sitting at the tables reading.

“Got something!” Mike said suddenly, holding up an old looking book with a black cover and gold lettering.

_ A History of Old Derry _

They rushed to find a quiet place to read, the three of them crowding around a small round table in the corner. Mike flipped open the book to its table of contents. There were several interesting chapters in the book, from the founding of the town by Native Americans all the way up to events that happened about thirty years ago.

“Woah, listen to this,” Mike started.

“Derry, Maine has a rather dark history in comparison with other small towns across the United States. The life expectancy in Derry is far below normal standards, with many recorded incidents of death or citizens going missing entirely. In fact, the death toll for the town was last recorded as six times the national average for a single community.”

Will’s eyes were wide. He stared up at Mike, while El looked around nervously. She couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. Her eyes met a boy about their age across the library, who was looking over at them with an inquisitive stare. He had short hair and a round face, one eyebrow raised as he looked over.

“There’s a boy watching us,” El said quietly.

Will and Mike looked up in surprise, glancing in the same direction. The boy was indeed watching them, though he suddenly looked quite awkward and returned his gaze to his book when he met their eyes.

“I’ve never seen him before,” Will said.

“Do you think… Could it be… It?” Mike wondered, his expression nervous.

El suddenly stood, ignoring the “Wait!” that Mike said sharply. She walked confidently over to the boy, who noticed her approach. He seemed uncomfortable, though El didn’t stop until she was standing right in front of him. 

“Why are you watching us?”

The boy looked surprised, averting eye contact and clearing his throat awkwardly.

“Oh! Sorry, it's just… Well, I’ve never seen you guys before, and, uh, I don’t know,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

El narrowed her eyes.

“I’ve never seen  _ you _ before.”

“Sorry, I’m Ben. Uh, I’m new in town…” he trailed off, not really sure what else to say.

El was still suspicious, though he didn’t seem like he was about to pull off a mask and reveal himself as the clown that had been tormenting them. Just an awkward boy, looking over at the only other teens his age in the quiet library. El could understand that much. She people-watched all the time. It was a fun little hobby, imagining what they might be talking about or wondering what their lives were like.

“Us too. We moved here a few months ago. I’m Jane.”

Ben seemed surprised that she was continuing the conversation, but pleased at the same time.

“What are you guys reading?”

“Come over. I’ll show you.”

Will and Mike looked at each other with puzzled expressions as they watched El have some sort of conversation with the boy across the room. They were shocked when they saw El wave her hand over to them, the boy standing and walking slightly behind her over to their table. He clutched his book to his chest, mouth pressed firmly shut as shyness took over.

“This is Ben,” she said.

“Hi,” he mumbled.

“Ben, this is my brother Will, and my boyfriend Mike.”

The two boys greeted him at the same time, Will giving the newcomer a small wave. 

“So, Jane says you’re new in town? Me too,” Ben said, as El motioned for him to take a seat with them.

The four teens began to chat, and before long all suspicion about Ben had been dismissed. He was very nice, if not a bit shy and awkward. He told them how he hadn’t really made any friends in Derry yet, and was surprised to see a group of kids his age at the library on a Saturday afternoon. He became quite lively when he saw that they were reading a book on the history of the town, explaining that he loved studying history and architecture. He loved the old, colonial houses of Maine, the unique building styles and how he’d love to take a trip to the coast sometime. The conversation lasted quite some time, before beginning to slow. That’s when Mike decided that it would probably be safe to ask Ben if he had seen anything strange since moving here.

“No, not really. I mean, I’ve been having nightmares, but my Mom says that’s just the stress of moving.”

“Nightmares?” El asked, feeling a chill as she remembered her own recurring nightmares.

“Yeah, I mean, totally normal stuff.”

“What kind of nightmares? I mean, what about?” Mike asked, seemingly not caring about how personal the question was.

“Uh, the circus? I think, I mean, just really creepy stuff like this weird circus and a bunch of stuff floating around in the air. It’s hard to describe.”

Will felt that familiar fear creep back into his mind. A sudden image flashed in his mind, the clown standing in front of him, smiling wickedly, before uttering in It’s guttural voice, “ _ Time to float.” _

At the same time, El suddenly recalled the night that she had heard voices in the bathtub drain. They had sounded like children, asking her to come and play. The collective voices had said  _ “Come float with us.” _

Ben and Mike seemed to pick up on how uncomfortable the two had just become.

“Is something wrong?” Ben asked.

“What was floating?” El whispered.

Ben seemed thoroughly confused, though he answered as best as he could.

“I don’t know really. A bunch of weird shapes, they almost looked like people. Balloons too, I think.”

A collective, horrified silence fell across the table. Ben wondered what about the dreams he had told them about could cause such a reaction from these kids that he had just met twenty minutes ago. Just as he was about to ask, Will spoke up.

“You’re in danger,” was all he said, locking eyes with Ben.

Ben shivered. He didn’t understand what was going on. He had come to the library to get out of his house, which was far too quiet and too empty. He hadn’t expected to suddenly be given that sort of news.

“They’re- they’re just dreams,” he said quietly.

“You haven't seen anything when you’re awake? Anything you can’t explain?”

“Can someone tell me what’s going on?” Ben asked, desperate for an answer now.

He noticed how their gazes turned to Mike. Mike cleared his throat and looked over to him.

“Okay Ben, this might sound crazy. I mean, it  _ is _ crazy, but…”

Ben listened carefully as Mike explained the strange things that had been happening all over Derry, to all three of them particularly this weekend. How it had seemed to start with Jane, or as Mike called her, ‘El’ and her nightmares, which had begun soon after they had moved to Derry. How each of them had seen things that they were very afraid of, each experience unique to them. Mike told him about the other boys they met, how they claimed not to have seen anything, yet these unexplainable things had seemed to happen all around them. He shared each and every experience, all the way up to how a television had spoken directly to El barely two hours ago.

“So… what is It, exactly?” Ben asked when Mike had finally finished.

“We don’t know,” Will spoke quietly.

“Bad. Evil,” El added.

The rest of them nodded. Ben remained quiet for a moment, the information spinning around his head. Could his dreams really mean that this thing was out to get him? He could see the clear similarities from his dreams to their experiences. It was a terrifying prospect, though he knew that they were completely serious. 

“So what do we do?”

“We have to stop It,” Mike said firmly.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Will suddenly spoke.

All eyes turned to him.

“I mean, if It knows that were trying to stop It, won’t that just make things worse? Were all still alive. The only people that have gone missing so far are kids. Maybe if we told someone, an adult, then we won’t be in danger.”

“I don’t think an adult would believe you,” Ben said.

“Good point. The whole thing is crazy! You said yourself that your Mom’s been oblivious lately,” Mike stated.

Will began to chew his bottom lip again. The truth was that it was crazy. But his Mom had always understood before. After everything that had occured in Hawkins over the last three years, surely she would take him seriously. She was good at getting to the bottom of things, figuring out the mysteries and puzzles that had taken over their lives.

“I’m going to tell her. My Mom, I mean. She’ll know what to do.”

The group sat in silence for a moment, each of them lost in their own thoughts. It was El that spoke first.

“We should see the Losers one more time. Before…” she looked over at Mike with a melancholy gaze.

The thought of him leaving tomorrow was nearly unbearable. She had been looking forward to a nice weekend with him, a normal weekend. She had had all sorts of ideas in her head about what they would do. They would go to the park, lay out under the stars, hold hands, play games with the family, go out to eat, watch a few movies, and share plenty of kisses. Instead, the entire weekend had been a horror show, running from a monster that they didn’t understand. She reached across the table for his hand, and he grasped it tightly, giving her a sad smile. Neither of them noticed the way Will turned his head to avoid looking at them.

“Yeah, Ben should come too. They won’t mind,” Will said.

“Oh, are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

“I’m sure. Let’s call Eddie. Just… don’t say anything about what we talked about. These guys haven't seen It.”

“We don’t want to put them in danger too,” Mike said.

Ben nodded.

…

The four teens found themselves walking to Bill Denbrough’s house at six that night. Will and Ben took the lead, chatting quietly as they headed down the rapidly darkening street. Mike and El trailed behind, Mike with his arm wrapped around her shoulders. They didn’t speak, simply enjoying each other’s company. Since leaving the library, El didn’t seem to want to be more than a foot away from him at all times. Mike certainly didn’t mind. He had missed her terribly, and was trying not to think about how hard it would be to go back to Hawkins tomorrow.

“This is it,” Will said, the group coming to a halt in front of a two story house with a covered porch.

They headed up the steps, Will ringing the doorbell. It was Bill who answered the door, giving them a grin when he saw who it was.

“Hey g-guys. Come on in, E-Eddie’s ordering p-p-pizza.”

They headed into Bill’s house, which was warm and spacious. Bill introduced himself to Ben, who smiled and thanked him for letting him come.

“The m-more the m-m-merrier.” 

They made their way upstairs to Bill’s room, where they could hear muffled voices from behind the door. It sounded like arguing. Bill rolled his eyes.

“G-guess I shouldn’t have l-l-left them with Stan. P-poor guy.”

He opened the door, walking into the midst of a heated argument.

“Nobody wants mushroom and onion pizza, Eds! Nobody!”

“They’re the two best toppings, asshole. If I let you order it, we’d only be eating cheese again.”

“That’s cause cheese is the best, Edward! I’m so sorry it makes you constipated, but not all of us have the digestive system of a cat!”

“Fuck you Richie! What the Hell does that even mean?”

“Guys! Shut up!” Stan said, motioning to the new arrivals.

The arguing boys looked up as Bill, followed by Will, Ben, Mike, and El entered the room. Richie bounded over to them, completely ignoring everyone but Ben. He looked him up and down and grinned, grabbing the surprised boy by the shoulders.

“Holy shit, it’s Haystack Calhoun! Bill, you never said that someone fucking  _ famous _ would be here!”

“It’s Ben, actually,” Ben said, his cheeks turning pink.

“L-leave him alone Ruh-Richie. Just ignore h-him Ben.”

Richie gave Bill the middle finger before turning to greet the rest.

“Ah, and of course we have the  _ lovely _ Jane,” he said, bowing dramatically.

“Mikey-boy, my brother from another mother,” he saluted.

“And Sir-William, cutest little thing in Derry. No offense, Eds,” he said, pinching Will’s cheek.

Will blushed, and Eddie just rolled his eyes and made a noise of discontent. After the rather obnoxious introductions from Richie, Stan and Eddie greeted Ben as well. Ben quickly settled in, enjoying chatting with the boys. 

“So, what’s with the pizza feud?” Mike asked.

“There’s an easy solution guys. Pepperoni,” Ben said simply.

Eddie and Richie glanced at each other, then back at Ben. Richie shrugged, while Stan looked highly amused.

“You two really couldn’t have come to that agreement earlier?”

“Oh fuck off Staniel. Order that shit.”

There was idle chatter as the group of eight waited for the pizza to arrive, talk about future plans for the friends to reunite. Mike would be coming again in a month for Thanksgiving, while Will and El would be heading to Hawkins for Christmas break. Beyond that nothing was set in stone, though Mike continued to express an interest in visiting for an extended period in the summer, once school was out. Will couldn't help but wonder why on Earth he would ever want to come back to Derry, let alone for weeks at a time. If it had been him, he would have left the nightmare town behind forever and moved on with his life. That was another reason he liked Mike so much. He looked out for them, not just El. Will knew that Mike wouldn’t hesitate to put himself in danger if it meant helping his friends. 

Will snapped himself out of his wandering thoughts, breaking his gaze from Mike with slight embarrassment. He hoped that nobody had caught him staring. Instead, he turned his attention to Richie, who was bothering Eddie again. Will raised an eyebrow as he watched the two. Eddie was sitting cross legged on the floor, Richie up on Bill’s bed. He kept spidering his fingers along the top of Eddie’s head, who repeatedly slapped his hand away, though for once he didn’t seem overly angry or annoyed about it. Will wondered if the two just kept up the facade of constant arguing so their other friends wouldn’t see how much they actually enjoyed each other’s company. He had never seen two friends argue so much before, spitting whatever vile insults they could come up with before seeming perfectly content and relaxed. It made Will a bit jealous, that feeling that he had only just begun to experience for himself. 

“So Haystack, we should really let you know what you’re dealing with here,” Richie said, giving Ben an intense stare.

“Uh… Okay?” Ben said, though it was more of a question.

“You sit among the presence of Losers. The biggest Losers in Derry, actually. If you want in, that means you are a Loser too.”

Ben raised an eyebrow.

“You guys don’t seem like losers.”

“Th-that’s where you’re w-wrong,” Bill said with a smile.

“Everyone says we're Losers. So, we adopted the title,” Stan stated matter-of-factly.

“The Losers Club. There were only four of us a month ago,” Eddie said.

A comfortable silence fell over the group as they realized that their friend count had just doubled. As usual, it was Richie who broke the silence.

“Well, it’s Mikey-boy’s last night in Derry for a bit, so let’s get this party started! We’ve got movies, games, soda, pizza on the way. We could play spin the bottle… Seven minutes in heaven,” Richie winked at Will, his face instantly turned bright red.

“Oh fuck off you creepy pervert,” Eddie said, laughter filling the room.

The night was wonderful. There was chatter, laughter, and good times had by all. They played board games until the pizza arrived, stuffing themselves with greasy goodness as they settled in to watch movies on the television in Bill’s room. When they had shut off the lights, the television casting a flickering glow over the room, Will had been unsure of where he should settle to watch the movie at first. His gaze had wandered instinctually to where Mike and El were sitting, though he decided that it would be inappropriate to intrude on their time together. It slightly bothered him as he watched how quickly they settled, Mike pulling her close as she rested her head on his shoulder.

_ Jealous. _

Bill and Stan had kicked Richie off the bed, sitting cross legged side by side. 

_ “There’s plenty of room, fuck you guys!” _

Ben sat a bit away from the group, too new to find someone to sit next to and ending up at the foot of Bill’s bed by himself, though it didn’t seem like he minded. Will ended up sitting down next to Eddie on the floor, about two feet of space between them. Just before the movie began, Richie came over and wedged himself right between them, throwing his arms over each of their shoulders. Eddie complained, though Will noticed that he didn’t shove Richie away. Will was thankful that it was dark, because his face was burning. He didn’t want to admit it, but he didn’t mind that Richie seemed to have no sense of personal boundaries. Maybe it was because he looked so much like Mike, but Will just felt comfortable being close to him. He tried his best to shove those thoughts aside and focus on the movie.

As the night came to a close, Bill got up and turned on the lights. They had watched two movies, and despite drinking quite a bit of soda, everyone was getting tired. Everyone except Richie it seemed, who had been talking and narrating for the entirety of the films. Will had quickly learned to tune him out, wondering if that was how everyone else dealt with his constant chatter. Eddie had ‘beeped’ him a few times, the only thing that seemed to make him shut up for a few minutes. It was only when Bill turned the lights on that Will realized how tired he really was. He hadn’t had more than a few hours of sleep all weekend, too terrified that a monster would come for him in the middle of the night. He glanced over to El and Mike, who had both fallen asleep halfway through the second movie. Mike was leaned back against the wall now, snoring slightly, El using his chest as a pillow. Will knew that they hadn’t slept this weekend either.

“Wake up sleepyheads, time to go home,” Richie went over, shaking Mike’s shoulder.

“Thanks for doing this, Bill. It was really nice,” Will said.

“No p-p-problem. We’ll see you and Juh-Jane at school. You t-too Ben.”

Ben was beaming, overjoyed that he had made so many friends in one day. He had never really had friends before, and the idea that he was now part of a group was incredible. He didn’t even care that they called themselves Losers. 

“Cool, yeah. I’ll see you guys then, thanks Bill!”

Seven of them left the house, saying their goodbyes as they headed in different directions home. Will silently prayed that each of them would make it home safely, eyeing the storm drain as they turned down Witcham Street. That was the last place anyone had seen Bill’s brother. At the end of the street, Richie and Eddie broke away from their group.

“See you guys later!” Eddie said.

“Bye bye, beautiful babies!” Richie called out as they headed towards their own homes.

“That was fun,” El said quietly.

“Yeah. We’ll do it again soon,” Mike said.

Will noticed by the light of the streetlamp that tears had begun to roll down her cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked in surprise.

She began to cry harder, and Will instinctively walked over and put his arm around her. Mike did the same at her other side, allowing her to let it all out. It was Mike who pulled the three of them into a group hug, and Will felt his own emotions building. He could see that Mike’s eyes were wet, and soon the three of them stood on the street corner in a tight hug, sharing a good, long cry. It was exactly what they needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, sorry its been so long! I hope I did alright introducing Ben, of course I'm rewriting history here so I wanted to make sure it was okay. Mashing two timelines together can be challenging :) I hope everyone liked this chapter, and as always, thank you for reading!


	16. Memory

El hated goodbyes. As Mike and Nancy put their things in the trunk of her car, the Byers stood in the driveway in a group to wish them safe travels.

“Come stay again soon! Anytime, really, as long as the drive is convenient,” Joyce said with a smile, giving Nancy then Mike a warm hug.

“Yeah, we’ll plan a trip to Hawkins too. If your family wants to spend Christmas together still,” Jonathan added.

“Yes, definitely.”

It was clear that Nancy was holding in tears, though she had always been good at masking her emotions. It was a trait shared by her brother, who was standing by the car with his hands in his pockets, looking both anxious and sad. No tears though. El couldn’t hold them back. She had hoped that she’d cried herself out last night, that they all had. That didn’t seem to be the case however, as fresh tears stung her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She ran to him and threw her arms around him so quickly that he stumbled a bit, but hugged her back tightly.

“It’s okay. We’ll see each other soon. Besides, there's always the radio, and the phone.”

The words, comforting as they were meant to be, did little to suppress the immense feeling of loss running through her mind right now. El remembered how hard those 353 days had been, and she had an ominous feeling that every time she saw him now or even spoke to him that it would be the last time. She didn’t know how to say it, to express those dark and depressing feelings. She couldn’t help but think of Hopper, how she’d never see him again. She couldn’t have that happen twice.

“Mike. I love you,” she said through her tears.

“I love you too,” he murmured quietly, his cheeks turning slightly pink only because he was aware that the rest were watching them.

If he’d been paying attention to anyone but her, he would have noticed how almost all of them were getting choked up watching their goodbyes. Nancy had thrown her arms around Jonathan once more, kissing him softly before smiling and wiping away a single tear. Mike followed her example, leaning down to kiss the girl who was crying in his arms. It was everything he could do not to lose it right then and there. Little did El know, he had been feeling the exact same way as her. That this could be the last time they see each other, if that monster that had tormented them all weekend had Its way. He tried to tell himself that It wouldn’t get her, that she was strong and smart. Thank God she had the Byers, and the Loser’s Club to watch over her while he couldn’t. 

“Mike,” Nancy said softly, reminding him without words of the sixteen hour drive back home that awaited them.

They broke apart, and El wiped her eyes with her sleeve, nodding at him and smiling sadly. God, she was strong. He returned the smile, took a deep breath, and turned to Will. His best friend had remained silent almost the entire time, and Mike figured that he was sad too. Sad and scared. Will looked up as Mike walked over to him, not hesitating to pull him into a tight hug. Will was surprised, though he allowed himself to relax, returning it. It didn’t last very long, but it was enough to reassure both of them. 

“See you soon. Stay safe,” Mike said, his hands still on Will’s shoulders.

“We will. See you soon.”

There was a final collective goodbye as the Wheeler siblings got into the car, waving as they backed out of the driveway. Will pulled El into a sideways hug as they watched the car roll down the street, both Mike and Nancy waving out their windows before the car turned out of sight.

“What now?” El whispered.

“Well, I didn’t touch my homework this weekend. Did you?”

El shook her head, realizing suddenly that she had a two page essay to write and a sheet of algebra equations to solve. Will couldn’t help but giggle just a bit. After this insane weekend, how could there have been any time for homework? 

“Well, let’s get to it then. Come on.”

They headed into the house, grabbing their backpacks and heading to Will’s room to buckle down on the ridiculous amount of work they had to do. El wished that Mike was here to help her with her English essay. She still didn’t think that she was very good at reading and writing, her sentences coming out jumbled or too short, her paragraphs running together, and her punctuation insulting. Algebra came surprisingly easy to her, the numbers just made sense. Will was completely opposite, an great writer but terrible at math. At least they could help each other this time. As El began to solve the list of equations on the sheet before her, she began to feel better. At least for a little while.

...

“So, what really happened to your face?” Nancy asked.

Mike brought his hand to his cheek and felt the cut there. It didn’t hurt much anymore, but it was still tender to the touch. He looked out at the rolling fields through the window of the car and furrowed his brow, checking his reflection.

“Uh, a tree branch. I think.”

Come to think of it, how  _ did _ that happen? Mike shook his head. It had been a crazy weekend, of course he couldn’t remember every little detail about the events of those two days. He tried to think back. They had been running in the woods, from someone. Or something? Right, the clown. The clown was evil. Mike had seen It when he first came to Derry. That thing was terrifying. Trying to remember what It looked like was difficult though. Hadn’t It had a knife? No, that was someone else. The entire weekend seemed like some sort of faraway dream, even though it had only just ended. There had been others with them, not just El and Will. Dammit, what were their names? He could have sworn there was a Bill, but maybe he was just getting confused with Will. Who else? 

“Richie,” Mike said aloud with realization, causing Nancy to look over in surprise.

“Who’s Richie? Did he do that?” 

“No, he’s El and Will’s friend. Nance, do we have family in Maine?” Mike wondered.

“Not that I know of, why?”

“He looked just like me. Maybe a year younger, but still. Just like me.”

This was news to Nancy. She wondered why he hadn’t mentioned something like that earlier. Had that been why he had looked so nervous Friday night? 

“We can ask Mom. Maybe she’s got a sister or something in Maine. Could be a cousin,” Nancy reasoned.

“Maybe. It was weird though. Like looking in a mirror,” Mike said with a small smile.

Of course he remembered Richie. How couldn’t he? The kid looked just like him, and he was funny and loud. Foul mouthed for sure, but it only served to make him that much more hilarious. Mike could picture him clearly, but what about the others? He knew there were others. He’d have to ask El about it when they got home.

…

“So he doesn’t remember anything? Did he hit his head when we were running from Bowers?” Stan asked.

“No. He remembers Richie, not much else. I told him your names again,” El said.

She and Will sat with the Losers Club around their lunch table. Richie looked up from his peanut butter sandwich and beamed.

“Of course he remembers me! I’m the sexiest bitch here.”

“Oh, you’re a bitch alright,” Eddie said.

“Well, it’s w-weird alright. B-but there has to be an exp-exp-exp-”

“-planation,” Stan finished, giving Bill a small smile.

Will looked around the lunch room. Everyone here seemed to be acting completely normal, and he wondered how many of them had seen the things that he and El had over the last few weeks. The Losers Club hadn’t mentioned anything out of the ordinary, and Will wondered if he should ask them. It was strange, he thought. These kids had lived in this town their whole lives and hadn’t mentioned anything about the things they kept seeing, or the recent missing posters. Bill was obsessed with finding his brother, the search parties having given up a couple weeks ago. He refused to believe his brother was gone though, and Will wasn’t sure if he had the stomach to tell him about the girl in the woods. If that thing had taken Bill’s brother…

“Maybe it’s like, PTSD or something. I mean, Bowers was ready to kill him,” Eddie said.

“Bowers is one bad day away from a murder spree. That doesn’t explain him forgetting the entire weekend, and everyone except dumbass over there,” Stan said.

“Hey! Rude!”

Will focused on his lunch, deciding it would probably be best to keep his secrets to himself. Only Ben, the newest member of the Club, understood what he and El had seen. Ben was good at keeping secrets, it seemed. He remained silent while they discussed the very strange circumstance of Mike seeming to forget everything that had happened. Will wondered if  _ It _ could have something to do with Mike’s amnesia. At first, Mike had been able to recall a few of the events that had occurred when he spoke to El and Will on the radio. He was fuzzy on the details, but he could piece together what had happened. With every passing day, he seemed to be forgetting more of what had actually happened. Mike had described it as “Like a dream, you know when you wake up and remember it clearly, but the more you think about it, the less you can remember? It’s like that.”

None of them could explain it, and Will wondered what would happen if they left Derry. Would they forget everything too? Stan’s PTSD theory had made the most sense. Of course, Henry Bowers hadn’t been the only terrifying thing to hunt them that weekend. Not that Bill, Stan, Eddie, or Richie were aware of anything out of the ordinary. Will looked up and his eyes widened suddenly as he caught a glimpse of brilliant red hair. Beverly Marsh was walking across the cafeteria with her tray, by herself. Will noticed Bill look up as well, his eyes following her as she walked by. She turned and caught Will’s eye, giving him a smile and a wave.

“Holy shit, do you know Beverly?” Stan asked.

“Uh, yeah. I ran into her once, in the hall,” Will replied.

“Dude, she’s way out of our league. No way she’d even look at us,” Eddie said.

“She’s pretty,” El said.

She was pretty. Will couldn’t help but stare as she found her seat in the back of the cafeteria, alone. Part of him wanted to go to her, sit down and talk. He’d only felt like this, that strange feeling of butterflies in the pit of his stomach, around one other person. He shook his head though, bringing himself back to reality. He had promised himself that he would never fall in love. It was stupid, sappy, and only ended with pain. Will remembered that pain, and told himself that he could never fall in love. He didn’t even  _ know _ Beverly. It was just a stupid crush, just like that other equally stupid and impossible feeling he had for someone else in the back of his mind. He turned back, noticing that everyone else had turned to look at Beverly also. All except one. Will raised an eyebrow when he noticed that Richie wasn’t looking at her, but rather at Eddie who was sitting next to him. There was a weird look on his face, and Will wondered if it was something akin to jealousy. Why would Richie be jealous of Eddie? It didn’t make sense.

“Oops, watch it there fag,” a voice said, rousing them all from the trance like state they’d all seemed to have entered.

Patrick Hockstetter was walking by, swiping Eddie’s tray onto the floor. His food splattered everywhere and Patrick laughed, tossing his long hair to the side. Eddie threw up his hands, his mouth open in surprise, but he didn’t say anything. Will noticed El tensing up and beginning to stand, so he quickly grabbed her wrist and shook his head. She looked ready to fight.

“Not worth it,” he mumbled.

El bit her lip and settled back down, while the others had turned their attention to Eddie who was wiping chocolate pudding off his shoes. 

“Fucking jerk,” he muttered, tossing his napkins angrily onto the table.

“At least he aimed for the floor instead of your lap,” Richie said.

“Still a fucking jerk.”

Richie tapped the table for a second before sliding the uneaten half of his peanut butter sandwich over to Eddie with a smile.

“Here Eds, I’m not really that hungry. Hockstetter’s smell always kills my appetite.”

Will raised an eyebrow. Aside from Richie’s joke, he could hear the sincerity in his voice. He’d only known the kid for a few weeks, but the act just seemed very  _ not _ Richie. Eddie thanked him with a small smile and accepted it. El was still glaring over at the table where Patrick had gone to sit with Henry, Belch, and Vic. 

“I hate them,” she stated firmly.

“Yeah well, they’re way bigger and stronger than any of us. Just try to stay out of their way,” Ben said.

El found herself once again wishing for her powers to come back. It would have been very fun to make Henry Bowers wet his pants in school, like she had done to that horrible boy back in Hawkins several years ago. She had been attempting to use them every single night since the nosebleed at Eddie’s house, trying again and again to make her alarm clock hover. It wouldn’t though, and each attempt was more frustrating than the last. None of her attempts had led to any results, not a single drop of blood from her nose. El huffed and returned to her lunch, though she suddenly wasn’t in the mood for anything from the school cafeteria. She wished she’d brought Eggos with her today.

…

The next month went by at a slow, monotonous pace. Will had been thinking a lot about what he would have to say to his mother about their situation, but he still couldn’t think of the right way to bring it up. Joyce seemed happy here, finally. She was strong, Will knew. He knew all too well just how strong she could be, and the fact that she hadn’t mentioned Hopper since their move was concerning. Jonathan seemed distracted, though commuting to Bangor on a daily basis for school had been draining for him. Still, he was committed to studying and had even begun some photography work for The Bangor Daily. Even El didn’t like to talk about what had happened over that weekend. Since Mike’s departure, neither of them had seen anything significant, though El had come to Will’s room crying a few times after her nightmares. 

That was another thing. The nightmares they both had were nonstop, and both were suffering for it. It seemed that El constantly had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, and Will had actually received a detention for falling asleep in Algebra too many times. They had told him that the next step would be a call to his mother, and he didn’t want that yet, at least until he was able to talk to her himself. Will had decided that many times it was better to stay up all night than to fall asleep and see those horrible images of blood, balloons, clowns, and dead children. El had begun spending many nights in Will’s room. Will had promised to wake her up if he noticed that she was dreaming, which happened every night, sometimes more than once. He learned that she regularly talked in her sleep, which was funny and cute until she began to cry or yell for someone. Sometimes she yelled for Hopper, other times for Mike. Will was surprised the first time she had yelled out for him in her sleep, though pleased all the same. He did what any good brother would do, shaking her gently awake and hugging her as she cried. It was nice to have someone now that Jonathan wasn’t around as much.

“When will you tell her?” El asked one night.

They were playing CandyLand, currently at two o’clock in the morning on a school night. Both of them hadn’t been able to sleep, so they decided they’d play board games to pass the time.

“I don’t know. Soon. I don’t know how,” Will said, drawing a card and groaning at the bad luck.

“She won’t be mad,” El said absentmindedly as she drew a card and moved her piece.

“I know, it’s just that she freaks about stuff. She seems so happy lately, I don’t want to ruin it.”

El nodded and rubbed her eyes. 

“Are we still going to Bill’s house tomorrow?” 

“Yeah, right after school. We’ll walk there together.”

They had been spending plenty of time with the Losers Club since that weekend. It was almost as if they’d all been friends forever, even though they and Ben had only just met them a little over a month ago. There was concern for Bill, who seemed depressed. He wasn’t speaking nearly as much, and usually had a faraway look in his eyes. There had been no word on his brother Georgie, the missing posters covered up by new faces. There had been two more disappearances since Mary, the little girl Will had seen in the woods. Nobody seemed to speak about it though, but Will, El, and Ben understood. They knew that none of those kids would be found.

“You want to try and rest? I can keep watch,” Will said as El yawned and rubbed her eyes again.

“Okay. Leave the lamp on,” she said.

Will pushed the game to the side and allowed El to climb into his bed. He sat up in the chair at his desk, pulling a sheet of paper and a box of colored pencils from the drawer. El was asleep within a minute of laying down. Will smiled sadly and began to draw, becoming lost in his work as he did what he did best. He could certainly express his feelings through the pictures he drew, something he could always manage when words failed him. He had barely been aware of what he was drawing. He drew a boy, standing on a hillside with a forest in the background, smiling up at the sky. The boy looked like Mike at first, though Will didn’t realize it. He just drew, until he was satisfied with the art he’d created. He frowned. He hadn’t drawn Mike, as much as the boy resembled him. He’d made the hair shorter, the freckles more defined, given him a pair of square glasses and a big, goofy smile. It was Richie.

“Mmph,” El sighed, rolling over.

Will put the paper down and looked over. 

“You okay?” he whispered.

“Mhm,” she made a noise of confirmation, though Will could tell that she was still very much asleep.

Will smiled, then turned back to his drawing. He took another look, pondering why he’d chosen to draw Richie, of all people. He shook his head and slid it into the folder full of other art pieces he’d created. He stood, walking over to where El slept, and pulled the covers up a bit higher around her shoulders. She seemed to snuggle deeper into the comforter, and Will was satisfied. He sighed and propped himself in his chair against the wall, leaning his head back against the wall. He fell asleep instantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay I wrote another chapter! Any requests moving forward? I want to do a Christmas chapter, though I'll be trying to move along into the summer of IT Chapter One without making it to time-skippy. I've still got to bring Beverly and Mike H. into the fold, and I do want to get some of The Party involved at some point. Meh, we'll see. Thank you all for your wonderful comments and support for this story! Hope y'all enjoy, and thanks for reading!


	17. Happy Holidays

Bill had never imagined that Christmas could be anything but wonderful. He was wrong. For the first time in his life, he hated Christmas. He sat in his living room, his parents on opposite ends, silent. He unwrapped his gifts with robotic motions, thanking them hollowly for the new games, comic books, and meaningless trinkets. His mother had made a dinner, which they ate in silence. Nobody spoke of the emptiness, which for the past six years had been filled with laughter and joy from the youngest of the family. Bill wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, or say something to break the horrible tension in the house. For nearly three months, nobody had said a word. Nobody had acknowledged the fact that Georgie wasn’t there, the unspoken rule was not to say his name. It would be too upsetting for his mother, his father had reasoned. Bill had heard her cry before, when she thought she was alone. She barely noticed him anymore. His father barely spoke to him. Bill wondered how long this could go on, and he hoped at least that his friends were having a better Christmas than he was. He cried himself to sleep that night.

***

Stan didn’t celebrate Christmas, though he was happy to spend time with his family during the holidays. Sometimes he wished that he could have a normal Christmas. It seemed so magical, and his friends (Richie) talked non stop about all of the gifts that they hoped to receive, decorating trees, making cookies and all that. Stan did enjoy his own traditions, even feeling bad for wishing he had something other than what made him unique. Still, he thought about his friends on that day, and hoped that they all had the beautiful day they wished to have.

***

Eddie was showered in gifts by his mother on Christmas morning. It never fails, every year an enormous pile of gifts spilled out from under the tree in their living room. Eddie loved the feeling, knowing that he didn’t have to share with anyone. As an only child, it was all for him. Each year brought a healthy mix of both new clothes and new things to play with. Only the best for her Eddie-Bear. The only downside was having his Aunts come over for dinner. He didn’t like how they fussed over him, calling him adorable and pinching his cheeks. Still, he could count on more gifts thrown his way when they did show up. All in all, it would be one of the best days of the year.

***

Richie’s Christmas was more or less the same each year. He knew that his family didn’t have all the money in the world, but he could usually count on one or two decent presents. It was one of the only days in the year that his family would actually sit down and have dinner together, even if it was in the living room. After the usual Christmas morning of sitting around and opening gifts, they all pretty much did their own thing. The turkey would no doubt be dry, as his mother would be on her second bottle of wine by the time dinner was ready. At least that was easily remedied by drowning it in gravy. Richie wondered what his friends were doing, and wished that he could spend the rest of the day with them. At least there was tomorrow. Not the most exciting day, but not the worst either. He supposed he should be happy that his parents acknowledged him at all. He didn’t even complain when he overheard his mother, drunk at six o’clock, complaining to his father in the kitchen.

“It’s too hard to shop for that boy! God, why couldn’t we have had a daughter?”

Richie was used to comments like that. He bit his lip and turned back around, going to set up his new Nintendo on the television. He knew that his father had bought him that one. If it was up to Maggie Tozier, he would have been unwrapping a brand new doll house that year. But he hadn’t, so he figured he’d take the bad with the good and just enjoy the video game. Not a terrible day, all things considered.

***

El rang the doorbell twice, practically bouncing with excitement. After a sixteen hour drive, the entire family was rather restless. Will was right next to her, Jonathan and Joyce standing just behind them holding the containers of food they’d brought for Christmas dinner. El could hear footsteps running down a set of stairs, the click of the doorknob, and before she could say a word she was in Mike’s arms. 

“Merry Christmas!” Joyce said with a laugh, Jonathan chuckling and smiling.

Nancy appeared a second later, followed by Karen and Holly. The families exchanged holiday greetings as Mike let go of El and turned to Will, pulling the hesitant boy into a tight hug. It was far different from their first reunion. Mike was positively beaming as he pulled away, Karen ushering the family into their warm house and off the snow covered front porch. The house seemed so cozy compared to the cold night outside, and decorated brightly for the holiday. Little red candles adorned the windows, Christmas lights cast a glow upon the front lawn, and a massive tree decorated with all sorts of ornaments stood in the corner of the living room. There was already a heaping pile of neatly wrapped gifts stacked underneath it.

“How was the drive?” Karen asked as she whisked around the kitchen, which was full of heavenly smells.

“Not bad, Jonathan and I split it,” Joyce responded, already getting right into the mix to see what she could help Karen with. 

Ted Wheeler sat in his chair in the living room, wearing a red Christmas sweater that didn’t seem right on him. He nodded at Will and El as they said hello. He was still uneasy about the strange girl, but he was at least polite. He watched her warily as she looked at the Christmas tree, perplexed by the handmade ornaments created by Nancy and Mike when they were younger, and the newer ones that Holly had crafted in school.

“Guys,” Mike said from behind them, nodding his head toward the basement door.

They followed him, heading down the stairs and closing the door. It was exactly as El remembered it. She felt a strange sadness as her eyes fell on the blanket fort where she had hidden after first meeting the Party. Mike had kept it up all this time.

“We need to talk,” Mike said in a hushed tone.

“About what happened? That weekend?” Will asked, averting his gaze to the floor.

He had known that this was coming, and quite frankly was afraid to talk about it. He hoped that keeping silent would keep whatever It was at bay. Maybe their fear gave it power?

“Yeah, and why I can’t remember it. I’ve been doing research.”

He slammed a notebook down on the coffee table, ushering them to sit with him on the couch. They sat on either side of him, leaning in to get a good look at whatever he’d put together. He flipped it open, and Will’s eyes widened. There were many pages of notes, pictures, newspaper articles, obituaries, and general information. 

“I looked into the town. It’s all basic stuff, but I think it’s helping me remember. I asked Nancy if she noticed anything after leaving, and she just gave me a weird look.”

“So it’s just you?” El wondered aloud.

“I guess. I told the guys, I even asked Mr. Clark about amnesia. He just said the human brain works in funny ways. Dustin thinks it’s all some big conspiracy, Russian brainwashing or something. Max and Lucas just think I’m crazy.”

“You’re not crazy,” Will said softly.

Mike looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, then smiled. Will felt his cheeks flush and he turned back to the notebook.

“What’s with all the obituaries?”

“Oh, all from Derry. Get this, they’re all pretty much the same. Mutilation, heavy trauma, sometimes just… remains.”

Will shivered, noticing something else as he flipped through the pages.

“None of them are over eighteen,” he said.

“Yeah, I know. Whatever did it, that… thing. It mostly kills kids.”

The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes, flipping through the book. Mike had made all sorts of notes, highlighting certain things that stood out. El was growing increasingly disturbed by all of the information, gripping Mike’s hand as he explained different things that he’d found.

“I want to go back. We need to figure this out. I- I have a feeling that if I go back, I’ll remember.”

“Yeah but, school. You can’t just drop everything to come back,” Will said.

“I know, I know. I feel like I’m going insane, all I can do is worry,” Mike said with a huff.

It was true, he had been extremely frustrated since returning home to Hawkins. It wasn’t just that he couldn’t remember pretty much anything about the weekend without reading his notes over and over, but the fact that Will and El were still facing an unknown danger was maddening. He felt helpless and scared, unable to protect them. He hated the distance between them. Even if something happened, he was sixteen hours away. 

“Well, we haven't seen anything since that weekend,” Will said in a halfhearted attempt to reassure Mike that they would be alright.

“Bad dreams,” El said quietly.

“Yeah, but they’re just dreams.”

“Has anyone else gone missing?” Mike asked.

“Yes.”

“Two kids since that weekend. A first grader named Tim, and a sixth grader, uh, Beth I think. Same as usual, just disappeared one day and nobody knows why. Everyone’s freaked out for a week, then it’s like nothing happened.”

“Shit,” Mike whispered.

“We’ll be okay. We never go alone now,” El said.

Mike nodded, seeming deep in thought for a moment. They were startled from the scary, depressing topic when the basement door opened and Karen called them upstairs. Dinner was ready, and they were all quite hungry. They rushed upstairs to enjoy the amazing feast laid out in the kitchen.

***

A noise woke Bill in the dead of night. He sat up quickly, realizing that he could see his breath. Why was it so cold? He threw the covers off and got out of bed, waking up a bit more as his feet met the ice cold wooden floor. He had heard something from downstairs, something in the living room. His parents wouldn’t be up at this hour. It was nearly three in the morning. He padded softly down the stairs, peering into the living room. The Christmas tree was dark, now devoid of presents underneath, all opened the day before. Bill stood in the living room for a moment, his eyes adjusting to the dark. There was nothing there. He scoffed and turned to go back to bed, when suddenly the Christmas tree lit up behind him.

He whirled around and drew in a breath, then exhaled. He clenched his teeth together and marched over to the tree, yanking the plug from the wall and engulfing the room in darkness once more. He turned, but before he could take more than two steps the light returned. Bill whipped back towards the tree as the lights began to flicker rapidly, the sounds of coursing electricity coming from the tree. Then they stayed solid, and Bill felt his stomach do a flip when he saw that the tree was still unplugged.

“Merry Christmas Billy,” a soft voice said from behind the tree.

The room somehow became even colder, and Bill couldn’t breathe. He watched with wide eyes as a young boy stepped out from behind the Christmas tree, wearing a yellow rain slicker and red galoshes, clutching a paper boat in his small hands.

“G-G-Georgie?” Bill whispered, not even realizing a tear rolled down his face.

“Merry Christmas Billy!” Another voice said, and Bill turned to meet the gaze of a terrifying clown, smiling widely with red painted lips and sharp yellow teeth that glinted like knives.

It screeched, lunging for Bill, who fell backwards. As he hit the floor, he writhed and fought with whatever had suddenly tangled him up, kicking and shouting. It was suddenly very dark, and no longer cold. A light flicked on, and Bill sat up, breathing heavily and looking around wildly. He was in his room, tangled up in his comforter, and his mother was standing in the doorway looking worried.

“Are you okay honey?” she asked, running a hand through her tangled hair.

“B-b-bad dream,” Bill panted, readjusting his comforter.

“Okay. Go back to bed honey,” she said tonelessly, turning off the light and leaving his door cracked open.

Bill breathed heavily for a moment longer, laying back down. A part of him wanted to jump out of bed and rush down the hall to hug his mother. It had been so long since she’d willingly hugged him. He pushed the thought down though, and lay there thinking about the nightmare. He could have sworn he was awake. Everything seemed so real, and he could really feel the cold. It was the strangest, and most terrifying dream he could ever recall having. He had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to sleep for the rest of the night.

***

“That was amazing Mrs. Wheeler, thank you so much,” Jonathan was the first to give his thanks after the wonderful Christmas dinner.

The rest of the kids chorused their thanks as well, and Will offered for them to help clean up. Karen seemed positively awestruck by the offer, happily accepting. Nancy wasn’t around much to help with that sort of thing anymore, Holly was too young, and Mike certainly never offered. Her husband could care less, retreating to his chair and the television every night after dinner, leaving her to clean up. It was a very nice change. She watched as Will washed dishes, passing them to El to dry, then Mike to put away. A sad smile crossed her lips. Karen wished that things could have been different, she really did. Nobody had told her or Ted what had really happened at Starcourt Mall over the summer, though she knew both Nancy and Mike had been there. She understood why Joyce had moved away, though the move had been hard for her older children. They both missed them dearly, and it was moments like these that they would have to look forward to from now on.

As the adults headed to the living room for an after dinner chat and hot chocolate, the three teens took their mugs and headed back downstairs. Everyone was in too good of spirits to question why they had broken away from the gathering. 

“We can camp out down here tonight if you want,” Mike suggested as he sipped his cocoa, Will and El both nodding in agreement.

El secretly wanted to sleep in the blanket fort tonight, some sort of nostalgia creeping up on her. It would be comforting, she thought, to pretend like everything was back to the way it used to be. They had only been at the Wheeler’s house for a few hours, and already she was happier than she’d been in a long time. Derry seemed so far away now, like some sort of bad dream that she’d finally woken up from. Her brow furrowed as she tried to picture what her friends in Maine were doing right now. It was odd, their faces weren’t easily coming to her mind. It was like looking through a foggy window, just outlines of the people she knew. 

“El? You okay?” Mike asked.

She snapped out of her trance to see both of them staring at her with mild concern.

“Yes. I was just thinking… About the Losers.”

Will suddenly appeared to be thinking quite hard as well, a puzzled expression appearing on his face. Mike seemed to have a lightbulb go off in his head, smiling brightly.

“Oh yeah! How are they? How’s uh, Richie? And Ben?”

“You remember them,” El said happily.

“Yeah, the others though… Bill?”

“Stan and Eddie too,” Will added.

“Right! I hope they’re all having a good Christmas.”

“They were excited,” El said with a smile.

They had talked about it constantly in the weeks leading up to the holiday. They had all been a bit disappointed that the Byers would be leaving for a few days, but they promised that they would get together as soon as they got back. El suddenly remembered something Richie had said to her before they had left school for winter break. She leaned over and planted an over-exaggerated kiss on Mike’s cheek, who looked a bit taken aback.

“Where did that come from?” he asked, blushing a bit.

“From Richie,” she said with a giggle.

_ “Give Mikey-boy a big sloppy kiss for me, won’t you dear?” _

They all broke out in hysterical laughter, a laughter that consumed them for several moments. After so much stress and anxiety, it felt wonderful to laugh. They sat in the warm glow of happiness, enjoying each other’s company in a way that they couldn’t back in Derry. They were really home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehhh, I feel so distracted lately! Sorry it's taking me longer than usual to update this, but I promise the story is ongoing. I hope this chapter is alright, and as always, thanks for reading!


End file.
